f 


of  m 

mninmitv  of  mom  Carolina 


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THE  LIBRARY  OP  THE . 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 
AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 
DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 
SOCIETIES 


F3063 
.S89 


APR  1 G  1976 


This  book  is  due  at  the  LOUIS  R.  WILSON  LIBRARY  on  the 
last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold  it  may  be 
renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  hbrary. 

1 

DATE  r»p^T 

DUE 

DATE 
DUE 

...... 

R  2 

61995 

— GGf^ 

NOV  i7 

OCT  2  r'^" 

APR  IS 

2004^ 

-  y 

Of  

UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


10001115918 


SKETCHES  ' 


OF 


A  JOURNEY 


•  IN 


CHILI,  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES, 


IN 


1  8  4  9. 


BY 

LIEUT.  ISAAC  G.  ^TRAIN,  U.  S.  N., 

Corresponding  Member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia ; 
of  the  Historical  and  Geographical  Institute  of  Brazil ; 
Ethnological  Society  of  New  York,  &c. 


NEW  YOKK: 
HORACE  H.   MOORE,  27  MERCHANTS'  EXCHANGE. 
1853. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 
HORA  CE  H.  MOORE, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Southern  Dis- 
trict of  New  York. 


Printed  by 
0.   W.  BENEDICT, 
301  William  Street,  N,  T. 


TO 

LIEUT.  WILLIAM  H.  MACOMB,  U.  S.  N., 

AND  MY  OTHER  MESSMATES,    NAVAL  AND  CIVIL, 
ON  BOARD  THE  U.  S.  SHIP  LEXINGTON, 

THESE  SKETCHES 

ARE  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 
IN  KINDLY  REMEMBRANCE  OF  OUR  AGREEABLE  ASSOCIATION, 
WHILE    ON    A    VOYAGE    FROM    SAN    FRANCISCO    TO  VALPARAISO, 
DECEMBER,  JANUARY,  AND  FEBRUARY, 
1848  AND  1849, 


Digitized  by  tlie  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://arcliive.org/details/sketcliesofjourneOOstra 


PREFACE. 


A  NOTE  of  explanation  may  be  deemed  necessary  before 
presenting  the  following  pages  to  the  public.  Firstly^  to 
explain  the  circumstances  under  which  the  journey  was  made. 
Secondly^  the  paucity  of  scientific  information,  and  Thirdly^ 
the  time  which  has  elapsed  between  the  journey  and  the  publica- 
tion of  the  narrative.  The  first  point  elucidated  will  measurably 
explain  the  second. 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1848-9  I  was  ordered  to  take  passage 
in  the  Lexington"  from  the  coast  of  California  for  New  York  ; 
but,  unwilling  to  pass  so  much  time  idly  on  board  ship,  and  not 
anxious  to  double  Cape  Horn  for  the  third  time  during  three 
years,  I  solicited,  and  obtained  permission  to  leave  the  ship  in 
Valparaiso,  and  rejoin  her  at  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
.  After  crossing  the  continent,  and  embarking  at  Buenos  Ayres 
in  an  American  vessel,  I  fell  sick  with  a  bilious  fever,  about  two 
days  before  the  brig  sprung  a  leak,  and  between  the  two  dangers, 
my  narrative  was  nearly  anticipated  by  my  demise. '  The  skill  in 
seamanship  and  calm  courage  of  my  friend.  Captain  Clarke, 
saved  me  from  the  second  danger,  while  our  joint  skill  in 
medicine,  and  various  empirical  essays,  saved  me  from  the  first ; 


vi 


PREFACE. 


and  after  a  tedious  passage  of  twenty-two  days,  we  arrived  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro.  The  brig  kept  above  water  by  constant  pumping,  and 
I,  a  bright  yellow  from  the  effects  of  disease,  and  so  weak  as  to 
walk  only  with  assistance.  In  the  sequel,  however,  I  fared  best, 
as  I  recuperated,  while  the  brig  was  condemned  and  sold.  The 
"  Lexington"  had  sailed  four  days  before  our  arrival  at  the 
entrance  of  the  harbour,  and  after  my  health  was  restored,  T. 
returned  home  in  the  U.  S.  brig  Perry,"  arriving  at  Norfolk  on 
the  11th  of  July,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  six  years.  The 
circumstances  under  which  my  journey  was  made,  will  explain 
the  second  point.  I  could  obtain  no  instruments,  and  had  no 
time  to  tarry  for  the  purpose  of  observing. 

Soon  after  returning  home,  I  was  detailed  for  Special  Service, 
which  employed  my  time  until  within  a  month  of  the  reception  of 
orders  for  the  Coast  of  Africa.  This  duty  involved  a  frequent 
change  of  residence,  and  prevented  my  settling  myself  down  to 
write  the  narrative.  It  is  true  that  much  time  which  might  have 
been  thus  employed,  and  was  employed  even  less  profitably,  rises 
in  judgment  against  me  ;  and  I  can  only  excuse  myself  by  re- 
ferring to  the  fact  that  for  nearly  five  consecutive  years  1  had 
been  confined  on  board  ship,  and  had  passed  the  greater  part  of 
another  year  in  the  wilderness. 

The  temptation  to  idleness,  when  once  free  from  the  restraints 
of  military  discipline,  and  in  an  enlightened  and  refined  commu- 
nity, after  such  an  ordeal,  will  excuse  me  to  those  who  have  been 
similarly  circumstanced,  or  have  sufficient  tolerance  to 

"  Compound  for  sins  they  have  no  mind  to." 

This  explanation  accounts,  and  I  hope  satisfactorily,  for  the 
delay  in  publication,  especially  as  the  countries  which  I  attempt 


PHEFACt: 


vii 


to  describe,  are  not,  as  with  us,  making  such  gigantic  strides  in 
progress,  that  a  description  will  not  serve  for  two  or  three  years. 

As  for  the  subject  matter,  it  must  speak  for  itself.  In  at- 
tempting to  compile  a  brief  history  of  Chili,  I  have  availed 
myself  of  the  best  authorities,  and  feel  assured  that  in  no  English 
or  Spanish  author  can  the  same  amount  of  information  be  found 
embodied,  as  none  that  I  have  met  give  a  continuous  history  of 
the  country,  from  its  first  settlement  to  the  present  time. 

Of  my  personal  narrative  I  can  only  regret  that  it  should  not 
contain  incidents  of  a  more  thrilling  nature,  "  which  do  so  greatly 
abound  in  the  works  of  some  travellers,"  and  have  endeavoured 
to  supply  the  deficiency  by  describing,  as  accurately  as  possible, 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people,  the  local  scenery,  and 
the  mode  of  travel. 

As  far  as  regards  myself  as  an  author,  in  the  whole  list  of 
travellers  given  by  Sterne  in  his  Sentimental  Journey,  I  can  find 
no  classification  which  embodies  exactly  my  own  description.  I  am 
not  an  idle  or  luxurious  traveller'  (or  I  should  have  selected  a 
difi'erent  field  than  South  America,  and  one  in  which  I  could 
have  journeyed  with  a  more  especial  reference  to  my  personal 
comfort.)  Nor  an  inquisitive  traveller^  as  I  studiously  avoided 
the  tacit  acknowledgement  that  I  came  to  spy  out  the  nakedness 
of  the  land  by  asking  impertinent  questions.  Nor  the  traveller 
of  necessity  J  because  the  Lexington"  would  have  conveyed  me 
home  more  economically  and  more  comfortably,  without  an  efibrt 
on  my  part.  Nor  a  lying  traveller ^  if  for  no  better  reason,  that 
I  have  not  written  to  support  a  preconceived  opinion,  or  theory, 
and  had  no  interest  to  be  subserved,  by  distorting  or  perverting 
the  truth,  and  that  my  memory  has  more  retentiveness  than  my 
imagination  fertility.    Nor  a  proud  traveller^  because  I  am  not 


viii 


PREFACE. 


an  Englishman.  Nor  a  vain  traveller^  for  reasons  best  known  to 
myself.  Nor  a  delinquent  traveller^  for  I  was  submissively  wend- 
ing my  way  home  in  accordance  with  a  sentence  of  my  so-called 
peers.  Nor  an  unfortunate  traveller^  unless  I  can  be  so  con- 
sidered in  having  met  with  no  great  dangers,  and  hair-breadth 
escapes,  with  which  to  astonish  my  friends,  and  add  interest  to 
my  narrative. 

Upon  first  inspecting  the  list  I  thought  I  might  perchance  be 
an  innocent^  or  a  simjple  traveller^  but  find  myself  excluded  upon  a 
close  examination  of  the  qualifications  required. 

Unable  to  decide  to  what  class  of  travellers  I  do  pertain,  I 
must  leave  it  an  open  question  for  the  decision  of  the  reader. 

J.  a.  s. 

U.  S.  Flag-Ship  "  Germantown," 
Porto  Praya,  St  Jago,  Cape  de  Yerde  Archipelago  \ 
♦         February  9th,  1852.  > 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PORT  OF  VALPARAISO  .         .         .         ...  13 

CHAPTER  H. 

CITY  OF  VALPARAISO  24 

CHAPTER  III. 

JOURNEY  TO  SANTIAGO  34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SANTIAGO  42 

CHAPTER  V. 

SANTIAGO      .  .  .  .  .  ...  .  .  53 

CHAPTER  VI. 

EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHILI  .         .  .  .  ,  .  64 

CHAPTER  VIL 

REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI       ,  Y8 


X 


CONTENTS. 


Pag<? 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

HISTORY  SINCE  REVOLUTION      .  .  .  .  .  o  97 

CHAPTER  IX. 

GEOGRAPHY  GOVERNMENT  DEPARTMENTS   OF  FOREIGN 

AFFAIRS,  FINANCE,  AND  INTERIOR        ,  .  .  ,  111 

CHAPTER  X. 

DEPARTMENTS   OF  JUSTICE,  RELIGION,  WAR  AND  MARINE   .  130 

CHAPTER  XI. 

SKETCHES  IN   CHILI         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  147 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE    CORDILLERA     ....  .  .  .  .  165 

CHAPTER  Xin. 

MENDOZA       ,  .  .  .  .  .  .  *       .  .  194 

CHx\PTER  XIV, 

A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS      .  .  .  .  .  219 

CHAPTER  XV. 

SAN  LUIS      .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  238 


CHAPTER  XVL 
A  GALLOP   ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS  . 


250 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

THE  PAMPAS 

CHAPTER  XVHL 
BUENOS  AYHES       ,  ,  .  .  , 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PORT  OF  VALPARAISO. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1849,  I  arrived  at  Valparaiso  from 
San  Francisco,  after  a  protracted  passage  of  seventy-four  days, 
in  the  United  States  ship  Lexington,  a  store-vessel  or  transport. 

Habits  acquired  by  nearly  twelve  years'  service  in  the  navy,  did 
not  in  the  least  decrease  my  anxiety  to  place  my  feet  once  more 
on  "  terra  firma  and  although  the  amiability  of  my  messmates 
had  made  it  one  of  the  least  tedious,  though  one  of  the  longest 
passages  which  I  had  ever  made,  yet  there  was  a  feeling  of  relief 
and  satisfaction  in  once  more  finding  the  various  comforts,  as  well 
as  luxuries  of  life,  within  our  reach,  which  would  have  convinced 
us,  had  that  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  been  wanting,  that 
neither  the  system  of  living  at  sea,  nor  in  our  newly  acquired  ter- 
ritory of  California,  was  in  exact  conformity  with  the  true  nature 
of  man. 

Accordingly,  the  ship  had  no  sooner  anchored  than  three 
fellow  passengers  and  myself,  availing  ourselves  of  our  preroga- 
tive, as  superfluous  members  of  the  body  politic,  had  left  the  ship, 
and  were  rapidly  approaching  the  shore  in  a  four-oared  boat, 
which  we  had  surreptitiously  obtained,  by  bribing  the  boatmen  of 
a  gentleman  who  came  on  board  to  call  upon  an  acquaintance. 

The  bay  presented,  as  usual,  the  large  assemblage  of  ships 
which  marks  it  as  the  commercial  emporium  or  depot  of  th 
Pacific  coast  and  Islands. 

2 


4 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Almost  every  maritime  nation  appeared  to  have  their  repre- 
sentatives, and  the  gafF-ends  would  have  furnished  the  rough 
materials  for  a  coat  of  many  colours,  not  only  for  the  patriarch 
son  of  the  favoured  wife  hut  for  his  less  deserving  brethren,  and 
half  a  generation  of  their  descendants. 

Nor  were  the  police  of  the  seas  wanting,  as,  independent  of  the 
huge  black,  wall-sided,  lumbering  armed  storeship  which  we  have 
just  left,  there  were  many  pennants  flying  in  the  harbour — Eng- 
lish, French,  and  Chilian — among  which  was  the  flagship  Asia,  of 
eighty  guns,  famous  for  having  borne  the  flag  of  Admiral  Cod- 
rington,  at  the  battle  of  Navarino  ;  the  French  frigate  Poursui- 
vante,  bearing  also  a  rear  admiral's  flag  ;  and  the  Chili,  a  forty- 
four,  bearing  the  broad  pennant  of  a  commodore,  and  displaying 
the  single  star  of  the  Chilian  republic.  American  pennants,  too, 
were  more  than  usually  numerous,  as  several  transports,  con- 
taining the  Second  Eegiment  of  Infantry,  and  detachments  from 
the  First  and  Third  Artillery,  had  called  in  for  refreshments  on 
their  way  to  our  still  distant  territories  of  California  and  Oregon. 
Of  the  four  comprising  our  party  in  the  boat,  three  had  visited 
the  port  previously,  and  had  volunteered^o  initiate  the  fourth 
into  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  Yalparaiso,  and  had  promised 
him  a  hearty  welcome  and  excellent  fare,  from  our  friend  and 
host  of  the  Chili  Hotel,  whose  style  and  attentions  had,  upon  the 
occasion  of  our  former  visits,  reminded  us  so  forcibly  of  our  own 
country.  Accordingly,  we  asked  no  questions,  but  proceeded  by 
the  shortest  route  to  seek  at  the  Chilly  not  only  the  welcome 
which  "  mine  host  "  usually  accords  his  guests  who  are  compe- 
tent to  pay  his  charges,  but  that  of  an  old.  acquaintance  and 
countryman,  which  the  traveller  soon  learns  to  appreciate,  while 
roaming  abroad  in  the  world. 

To  our  surprise,  however,  we  found,  upon  entering  the  house, 
none  of  that  bustle  which  is  characteristic  of  an  American  hotel, 
in  a  commercial  port  like  Valparaiso  ;  and^  though  we  listened 
attentively,  heard  none  of  the  loud  and  cheerful  conversation 
which  marks  the  proximity  of  the  bar.    Surprised,  we  wandered 


PORT  OF  VALPARAISO. 


15 


through  the  vacant  and  open  rooms,  and  finally,  meeting  with 
some  masons  who  were  repairing  the  walls,  inquired  the  where- 
abouts of  Mr.  Thibault,  and  were  civilly  informed  that  he  had 
gone  to  California. 

This  announcement,  to  which  we  were  not  so  well  accustomed 
as  we  have  become  since,  fell  upon  our  ears  with  a  startling 
efiect,  as  many  of  our  plans  had  been  laid  in  direct  reference  to 
the  reverse  of  such  contingency.  There  was  no  remedy,  how- 
ever, but  to  seek  another  hotel,  and,  in  order  to  facilitate  this 
search,  I  inquired  for  two  of  my  former  acquaintances,  expecting 
to  obtain  the  requisite  information.  They  also  had  gone  to  Cali- 
fornia. Afterwards  we  inquired  for  no  one,  taking  it  for  granted 
that  all  our  countrymen  had  followed  the  same  course ;  and 
when,  by  accident,  we  met  an  acquaintance,  it  was  with  a  feeling 
of  surprise  that  they  had  not  been  swept  by  the  current  of  com- 
mercial speculation,  to  the  shores  of  the  Northern  El  Dorado. 

Valparaiso  being  the  principal  mart  from  whence  California 
was  supplied,  all  business  men  were  actively  employed  in  ship- 
ments to  that  desirable  but  precarious  market ;  and  as  our  coun- 
trymen appeared,  as  a  general  rule,  to  feel  the  time  lost  in  shak- 
ing hands  a  sufficient  sacrifice  to  politeness,  we  were  at  liberty 
to  make  our  own  selection  of  a  hotel  at  our  leisure,  ''sans" 
advice  and  sans  "  counsel  on  that,  to  a  sojourner,  all  impor- 
tant subject. 

Our  first  visit  was  to  the  Star^  kept  in  the  American  style, 
with  an  excellent  table  and  a  frequented  bar-room ;  but  it  was 
rejected,  as  the  rooms  were  inferior,  while  the  numbers  of 
English  and  American  mariners,  who  occasionally  tarried  too  long 
over  their  tipple,  gave  it  a  character  too  boisterous  to  be  pleasant, 
and  which  the  agreeable  manners  of  the  host,  and  his  decided 
disposition  to  oblige,  could  not  counterpoise.  The  French  hotel 
was  next  reconnoitred  and  rejected  for  a  raison  we  had," 
which  reason,  by  the  way,  had  reference  to  an  appropriateness 
of  the  dismal  looking  cells,  by  courtesy  termed  bedrooms,  for  the 
propagation  of  certain  insects,  whose  mode  of  life  render  them 


16 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


inimical  to  sleep  or  wakeful  comfort.  Upon  a  fourth  essay,  we 
found  that  the  Hoifel  de  PEurope  satisfied  most  of  the  conditions 
required,  and  to  this  establishment,  accordingly,  we  removed  our 
baggage,  after  it  had  undergone  a  nominal  examination  at  the 
Custom  House.  In  this  hotel,  which  was  kept  by  a  Frenchman, 
we  remained  during  our  stay,  meeting  at  the  table  d'hote  some 
thirty  well  dressed  and  gentlemanly  persons,  who  appeared  to 
represent  every  commercial  and  maritime  nation. 

The  port  of  Valparaiso  has  been  so  frequently  described  by 
travellers  and  authors  so  much  superior  to  myself,  that  I  would 
hesitate  in  placing  myself  in  competition  with  them,  did  I  not 
feel  that  my  sketch  would  be  rendered  still  more  imperfect  by 
the  omission. 

The  combination  of  the  two  Spanish  words  VaUjparaiso^  it  is 
well  known,  means  the  Vale  of  Paradise  ;  but  why  it  should 
have  been  applied  to  this  particular  locality,  has  sadly  puzzled  the 
brains  of  many  who  insist  upon  appropriateness  in  appellations, 
as  the  vicinity,  so  far  from  fulfilling  the  conditions  which  its  name 
requires,  has  really  a  very  sterile  and  parched  appearance. 

The  bay,  as  it  is  called  by  courtesy,  upon  which  the  city  is 
situated,  is  a  deep  wide-mouthed  indentation  in  the  land,  and 
completely  open  to  the  northward,  whence,  during  the  winter 
months,  from  June  to  August  inclusive,  heavy  gales  are  expe- 
rienced, which  render  the  anchorage  insecure.  Fortunately, 
however,  these  winds  seldom  blow  home  that  is,  they  do  not 
reach  into  the  bay,  yet  vessels  have  to  endure  a  very  heavy  sea, 
which  not  only  cuts  ofi*  the  communication  with  the  shore,  but 
renders  their  position,  at  times,  one  of  considerable  peril. 

Formerly,  accidents  were  very  frequent,  and  attended  with  loss 
of  life ;  but  the  improvements  in  cables,  arising  from  the  general 
adoption  of  iron  chains,  has  diminished  greatly  the  dangers  of  the 
anchorage. 

The  water,  except  close  to  the  shore,  being  deep,  has  limited 
the  available  surface  of  the  bay,  which  appears  very  extensive  ; 
yet,  notwithstanding  all  these  natural  disadvantages,  which  art 


PORT   OF  VALPARAISO.  J 7 


has  not  attempted  to  remedy,  Valparaiso  has  improved  more 
rapidly  than  any  Pacific  seaport,  and  at  present  contains  some 
60,000  inhabitants.  Its  convenient  location,  as  the  first  available 
port  for  procuring  supplies  after  passing  Cape  Horn,  combined 
with  the  effects  of  the  civil  wars,  which  have  for  many  years 
desolated  all  the  republics  lying  to  the  northward,  have  made  it 
an  entrepot for  European  and  American,  as  well  as  Chinese 
and  East  Indian  produce  and  manufactures,  which  have  been 
exported  thence  in  national  or  foreign  vessels  during  the  intervals 
of  peace,  or  according  to  the  demand  in  the  neighboring  markets. 

The  Chilian  government,  aware  of  the  advantages  thus  derived 
from  making  Valparaiso  a  commercial  mart,  and  in  fomenting 
their  mercantile  marine,  have  adopted  a  system  of  bonding,  by 
which  merchandise  remains  afloat,  or  in  stone  houses,  paying 
duties  only  when  entered  for  internal  consumption,  and  re- 
exportable  at  the  discretion  of  the  owners,  subject  only  to  a  small 
transit  duty. 

The  advantages  of  such  a  system  to  the  natives  and  foreigners 
cannot  but  be  important,  as  the  distance  from  whence  merchan- 
dise was  despatched  to  the  west  coast  of  America,  and  the  paucity 
of  information,  prevented  the  shippers  in  Europe  and  elsewhere 
from  informing  themselves  of  either  the  political  or  commercial 
condition  of  those  countries  for  which  their  cargoes  were  destined  ; 
and  thus,  upon  the  misfortunes  of  the  neighbouring  republics, 
Valparaiso  has  been  built  up,  and  continues  to  flourish. 

In  1836  the  government  adopted  a  policy,  somewhat  question- 
able in  point  of  morality,  to  sustain  and  augment  its  commercial 
importance,  in  commencing  hostilities  against  the  Peru-Bolivian 
Confederation,  which,  under  the  enlightened  administration  of 
General  Santa  Cruz^  was  rapidly  developing  the  resources  of 
these  countries. 

The  far-seeing  and  intelligent  Portales,  then  first  minister  in 
Chili,  was  well  aware  that  the  continuance  of  peace  in  the  neigh- 
bouring republics,  which  was  attributable  to  the  personal  influence 
and  military  force  at  the  disposal  of  Santa  Cruz^  must,  by  in- 


18 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


creasing  the  commercial  importance  of  Callao^  inevitably  deprive 
Valparaiso  of  the  monopoly  of  the  Peru-Bolivian  markets,  which 
would  diminish  its  commercial  importance.* 

The  questionable  faith,  but  ultimately  singular  success  with 
which  hostilities  were  conducted  on  the  part  of  Chili,  will  be 
briefly  narrated  in  subsequent  pages ;  yet,  notwithstanding  the 
military  success,  the  object  of  the  war  was  fully  attained,  as  after 
a  few  convulsive  throes,  which  succeeded  the  dissolution  of  the 
confederation,  Peru,  the  most  important  of  the  two  republics,  has 
settled  down  into  a  state  of  tranquillity,  under  the  Presidency  of 
General  Castilla^  and  instead  of  receiving  her  supplies  by  tran- 
shipments from  Chili,  imports  them  directly  through  her  own 
port  of  Callao^  which  has  a  greater  natural  adaptation  to  com- 
mercial purposes  than  its  rival.  The  great  increase  of  pros- 
perity in  Peru  did  not  however  operate  ostensibly  in  diminishing 
the  importance  of  Valparaiso,  as  many  markets  have  recently 
been  thrown  open  among  the  Pacific  islands,  and  on  the  west  coast 
of  North  America,  which  have  supplied  the  place  of  those  which 
have  been  measurably  lost ;  while  within  the  last  few  years  the 
blockade  of  Buenos  Ayres  by  the  French  and  English  has  caused 
the  exportations  of  foreign  goods  through  Chili  to  the  Argentine 
provinces  of  Mendoza  and  San  Juan  to  be  more  important  than 
usual.  Valparaiso  was  the  first  port  to  derive  considerable 
advantage  from  the  discovery  of  the  gold  washings  in  California, 
on  account  of  its  proximity,  and  the  fact  that  a  large  store  of 
the  articles  required  for  consumption  of  the  miners  was  always  on 
hand.  Upon  my  arrival  at  this  port  the  supply,  generally  so 
ample,  appeared  exhausted,  while  many  merchants  were  pre- 
paring to  start  for  £!l  Dorado  with  their  remaining  stock.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  the  temporary  advantage  which  Valparaiso  has 
thus  derived,  and  still  derives,  from  the  increasing  emigration  to 
California,  most  of  which  is  directed  through  that  port,  it  will  be 

^  The  decrease  in  transhipments  had  already  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
GovernnQent,  prior  to  the  impulse  given  by  the  great  demand  produced  by 
the  opening  of  the  California  market. 


PORT  OF  VALPARAISO. 


19 


crushed,  and  that  too  within  a  few  years,  by  a  more  formidable 
rival,  rapidly  growing  up  on  the  magnificent  Bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, by  which  Chilian  commerce,  which  has  only  flourished 
owing  to  want  of  rivals,  with  equal  advantages  from  contiguity  to 
market,  will  be  driven  from  the  Pacific,  as  her  own  coasting  trade 
can  never  attain  much  importance,  owing  to  the  limited  extent  of 
coast,  and  of  the  population  to  be  supplied.  As  emigration  to 
California  must  soon  decrease,  and  as  vessels  loaded  only  with 
merchandise,  with  no  unusual  number  of  passengers,  will  not  be 
obliged  to  call  for  water  or  supplies,  the  people  of  Valparaiso 
will  endure  the  mortification  of  seeing  their  port  deserted,  and 
find  that  the  "  concentrated  bustle,"  which  has  excited  the  admi- 
ration of  all  voyagers,  has  disappeared,  and  for  ever.  As  neither 
the  exports  of  the  Republic,  nor  the  demand  of  her  limited  popula- 
tion, can  support  the  existing  state  of  commerce,  such  will,  in  all 
human  probability,  be  the  future  fate  of  Valparaiso,  as  a  com- 
mercial port ;  and  she  will  thus  share  the  fate  of  Tyre,  Sidon, 
Carthage,  and  innumerable  cities  which,  built  up  by  commerce, 
have  sickened  and  died,  by  the  diversion  of  the  nourishment  on 
which  their  prosperity  depended.  As  this  port  has  been,  for 
many  years,  the  principal  station  for  recruiting  vessels  of  all 
classes,  whalers  and  vessels  of  war  included,  all  supplies  can  be 
obtained  with  facility,  and  a  floating  water-tank  renders  the  pro- 
cess of  fining  up  with  that  necessary,  an  easy  operation. 

From  the  bay  of  Valparaiso,  we  will  now  cast  our  eyes  towards 
the  land,  and  attempt  to  describe  the  city  as  it  appears  from 
the  water,  which  view,  although  singular,  is  far  from  imposing, 
and  will  by  no  means  give  a  correct  idea  of  its  extent  and  popu- 
lation. The  city  is  built  partly  on  a  narrow  shelf,  at  an  elevation 
of  a  few  feet  above  high-water  mark,  and  partly  on  the  hills  upon 
which  this  shelf,  or  second  beach,  abuts.  The  latter  are  not 
continuous,  but  separated  from  each  other  by  ravines,  to  which 
the  name  "  quebradas,"  or  breaks,  is  given  by  the  Spaniards. 
To  the  summit  of  these  hills,  which  form  a  first  range,  and  are 
backed  by  a  higher,  attaining  some  1,300  feet,  houses  have  been 


20 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVUnlES. 


erected  J  some  of  them  in  situations  which  give  the  strongest 
impressions  of  insecurity  to  the  mind  of  the  observer.  As  an 
evidence  of  the  nautical  and  commercial  character  of  this  city, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  three  of  these  hills — the  whole  sides  of 
which  are  studded  with  houses,  and  are  apparently  inaccessible — 
are  by  foreigners  known  as  the  fore,  main,  and  mizen  tops,  and 
are  occupied  by  grog-shops,  sailors'  boarding-houses,  and  houses 
of  still  more  questionable  character.  Another  hill,  the  "  Cerro 
Alegre,"  nearly  abreast  the  only  wharf  which  the  port  possesses, 
is  occupied  by  the  habitations  of  the  rich  and  foreign  merchants ; 
and  although  the  ascent,  which  is  principally  a  flight  of  wooden 
stairs,  is  tedious,  the  view  of  the  bay  and  lower  town,  obtained 
from  the  summit,  amply  repays  the  exertion  ;  while  the  cottages 
ornees,"  with  their  gardens  filled  with  flowers,  throw  an  air  of 
rural  luxury  over  the  whole  scene,  which  we  could  scarce  expect 
so  near  the  busy  thoroughfares  of  a  commercial  town,  and  con- 
trasts favourably  with  the  miserable  appearance  presented  by  the 
"  Tops."  The  lower  town,  of  course,  is  the  scene  of  commerce, 
and  prosperity  having  extended  its  limits  much  beyond  those  which 
were  anticipated  by  the  founders,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to 
cut  away  a  portion  of  the  Cerro  Alegre,  to  open  a  street  by  which 
the  old  town  can  communicate  with  the  Almendral,  built  also  on 
the  beach,  and  following  the  curve  of  the  bay.  This  portion  of 
Valparaiso,  formerly  a  suburb,  has  become  the  most  extensive 
portion  of  the  city ;  and  as  it  displays  unfavourably  from  the 
water,  gives  a  great  increase  of  population  for  which  the  casual 
observer  is  not  prepared.  The  houses  of  the  lower  town,  which 
are  Spanish  in  architecture,  but  French  in  most  of  their  internal 
arrangements,  are  built  of  stone  covered  with  stucco,  and  tiled, 
the  flat,  or  azotea  roof,  for  some  reason,  not  having  found  favour 
in  Chili,  as  in  the  Spanish  South  American  Eepublics  generally. 

The  streets,  though  not  so  wide  as  in  our  own  country,  are 
sufficiently  so  for  circulation,  and  are  well  paved — a  duty  with 
which  the  Government  encharges  itself,  and  upon  which  it 
employs  large  gangs  of  convicts  in  chains,  who  are  guarded  by 


PORT  OF  VALPARAISO. 


21 


a  portion  of  the  naval  brigade,  or  marines,  to  whom  the  service 
on  the  sea  coasfc  is  confided.  The  Custom-house,  which  is  near 
the  ]Mole,  though  not  extensive,  is  well  built,  with  a  neat,  though 
not  imposing  interior.  On  its  belfry  is  a  large  clock,  by  which 
the  business  hours  are  measured. 

The  duties  collected  on  imports  in  the  port  of  Valparaiso, 
during  the  year  1845,  amounted  to  $1,326,810,  whereas  the 
whole  amount  of  duties  collected  in  the  eight  sea-ports  of  the 
Kepublic,  in  addition  to  those  upon  importations  from  the  Argen- 
tine provinces,  through  the  passes  of  the  Cordilleras,  was  not 
greater  than  $1 ,353,935,  which  comparison  will  give  a  correct 
idea  of  the  relative  commercial  importance  of  that  port.  Wheat 
in  grain,  flour,  and  metals,  are  the  principal  articles  of  export. 
The  value  of  the  former,  which  is  of  a  fine  quality,  and  of  a  flavour 
unsurpassed  in  any  part  of  the  world  which  I  have  visited,  I 
have  not  been  able  to  learn,  but  it  must  be  very  considerable,  as 
from  this  country  not  only  the  neighbouring  republics  but  the  Pa- 
cific islands  are  mostly  supplied.  During  the  latter  part  of  1848, 
the  rapid  increase  of  population  in  California  produced  an  immense 
demand  for  Chilian  flour,  which  will  probably  continue  to  supply 
that  market  without  competition  until  the  circumstances  of  the 
country  permit  the  inhabitants  of  Oregon  to  engage  more  ex- 
tensively in  agriculture. 

The  duties  upon  exports  from  sea-ports  during  1845,  amounted 
to  |218,970,  of  which  $91,421  were  collected  at  Valparaiso  ; 
the  proportionable  diiFarence  between  the  imports  and  exports 
being  attributable  to  the  greater  amount  of  copper  exported  at 
Chiapo,  Serena,  and  Huasco,  which,  situated  nearer  the  mines, 
are  more  eligible  points  for  embarkation. 

The  amount  of  silver  exported  through  the  custom-house  of  this 
port  during  1845,  was  61,463  marks,  while  the  sum  total  of  the 
exportation  of  silver  in  coin  and  bullion,  during  the  same  period, 
was  175,051  marks. 

The  value  of  the  gold  exported  during  the  same  period  was 
2=^ 


22 


CHILi  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


1,762  marks,  353  of  which  passed  through  the  custom-house  at 
Valparaiso. 

As  there  is  aPx  export  duty  of  six  per  cent,  on  the  precious 
metals,  and  their  value,  in  proportion  to  their  bulk,  affording 
ample  apportunities,  a  large  amount  must  be  smuggled  out  of  the 
country,  which  will  always,  under  the  present  system  of  levying 
high  duties,  prevent  the  custom-house  tables  from  giving  even  an 
approximation  to  the  value  of  the  exportation. 

The  whole  value  of  the  metals  exported  from  the  Republic, 
which  passed  the  custom-houses  during  the  four  years  ending  in 
1847  inclusive,  was  |2,977,343  for  1844  ;  $3,853^933  for  1845  ; 
$4,534,596  for  1846  ;  and  $4,495,677  for  1847. 

The  whole  value,  therefore,  of  the  metals  exported  during  that 
period  was  $15,861,554,  of  which  $8,483,843  was  copper  in 
various  forms,  bar-copper  being  valued  at  $6,288,212,  and 
copper  ore  at  $1,184,814. 

Silver  and  gold,  after  copper,  are  the  most  important  mineral  ^ 
productions  ;  and  the  whole  value  of  the  former  which  passed 
the  custom-houses,  (an  important  distinction,)  during  the  four 
years  already  specified,  was  $6,494,467,  while  the  latter  amount- 
ed to  $854,641. 

The  sagacity  of  the  government  has  been  displayed  by  levying 
only  one-half  per  cent,  on  gold,  which,  under  a  heavier  duty, 
would  afford  no  revenue. 

The  export  duty  is  six  per  cent,  on  all  other  minerals,  except 
arsenite  of  copper,  copper  ore,  wrought  and  old  copper,  and 
gypsum.  The  first  two  of  these  articles  pay  7|  per  cent.,  while 
the  last  are  free.  Arsenite  is  yet  insignificant  as  an  export ;  but 
during  the  four  years  already  referred  to,  wrought  copper  was 
exported  to  the  value  of  $63,296,  old  copper  $42,726,  and 
gypsum  $4,517. 

The  sum  total  of  the  receipts  in  all  custom-houses  in  the  Re- 
public during  the  year  1845,  including  port  charges,  wharfage, 
light-house  dues,  municipal  charges,  deposits,  &c.,  &c.,  was 


PORT  OF  VALPARAISO, 


23 


$1,763,739,  ofwhicli  $1,576,263  was  received  through  Val- 
paraiso. 

The  total  value  of  imports  during  1846  was  $10,149,135,  and 
in  1847  $10,054,580 ;  the  greater  portion  of  which  entered 
through  Valparaiso,  and  during  the  same  years  the  exports 
amounted  to  $6,340,384  for  the  first,  and  $7,021,834  for  the 
last.=^ 

The  value  of  naturalized  merchandise  exported  during  the  same 
years  was  $1,744,904  and  $1,420,737. 

Note. — The  other  sources  of  revenue  will  be  considered  in  Chapter  VIII. 
^  Greatest  amount  through  Serena  and  Huasco. 


CHAPTER  11. 


CITY  OF  VALPARAISO. 

The  public  buildings  in  Valparaiso  are  remarkable  neither  for 
size  nor  architecture.  This  is  especially  the  case  as  regards 
churches,  in  which  it  contrasts  unfavourably  with  Lima,  a  city  of 
nearly  the  same  size,  and  marks  the  distinction  between  those 
cities  which  grew  up  during  colonial  times,  and  those  which  have 
been  constructed  since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic. 
Within  the  last  few  years,  a  very  pretty  theatre  has  been  built, 
about  equal  size,  though  superior  in  decoration,  to  the  old  Park, 
in  New  York.  Upon  the  occasion  of  two  former  visits  in  1846 
and  '48,  I  found  a  very  respectable  Italian  opera  troupe,  which 
makes  its  head-quarters  at  this  place,  performing  occasionally  at 
Santiago,  Copiapo,  and  even  at  times  extending  its  operations 
up  the  coast  as  far  as  Lima.  Upon  the  occasion  of  this  visit,  as 
the  opera  troupe  was  at  Copiapo,  its  place  was  supplied  by  a 
good  dramatic  company  and  corjps  de  ballet ^"^"^  the  latter,  I  think, 
superior  to  any  stock  company  which  I  have  seen  elsewhere. 
Among  the  plays  represented,  which  were  generally  of  Chilian 
origin,  and  quite  recent,  numerous  allusions  were  made  to  Califor- 
nia, which  invariably  produced  plaudits  from  the  audience,  and  illus- 
trated the  enthusiasm  which  has  caused  so  many  natives  and  stran- 
gers in  this,  and  other  parts  of  the  Republic,  to  emigrate  to  that  de- 
sirable region— an  emigration,  which,  during  my  stay  in  the  country, 
amounted  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  a  single  day,  and  by  one  ves- 
sel.   This  theatre  has  all  the  arrangements  of  a  European  opera- 


CITY  OF  VALPARAISO. 


2^ 


house,  and  an  invariably  well-dressed  and  well-behaved  audience. 
In  the  boxes  and  lobbies,  I  met  with  many  Chilian  officers,  both 
of  the  army  and  navy,  and  was  struck,  as  I  have  been  before,  by 
the  contrast  in  their  personal  appearance  to  all  South  Americans 
that  I  have  seen  hitherto.  Their  complexions  are  as  fair  as  the 
English,  while  they  possess  the  same  healthy  colour  and  rotun- 
dity of  figure.  In  uniform,  which  they  wear  invariably,  that  of 
the  army  appears  to  have  been  copied  after  the  French,  while 
that  of  the  navy  closely  resembles  the  English.  So  closely,  in- 
deed, that  taken  in  connection  with  their  personal  appearance,  I 
have  often  found  myself  at  a  loss  to  decide  to  which  navy  they 
beloui^e  dun  til  close  enouii-h  to  recooi-nise  the  button.  If  there  v^as 
a  difference  obvious  to  the  superficial  observer,  it  was  that  the  Chili- 
ans were  better  dressed  and  more  polite  in  their  deportment,  and 
less  frequently  under  the  influence  of  strong  drink  than  those 
they  have  adopted  as  their  prototypes.  To  gratify  the  public 
fondness  for  dancing,  the  theatre  is  frequently  fitted  as  a  ball- 
room, by  extending  the  stage  over  the  orchestra  and  parquette, 
and  upon  these  occasions  the  scene  is  gay  and  novel  to  one  un- 
accustomed to  the  Spanish  masked  balls.  I  attended  one  while 
in  Valparaiso,  there,  in  common  with  some  hundreds  of  others, 
and  cannot  but  commend  the  order  and  good  behaviour  of  all 
present.  The  women  were  generally  very  well  dressed,  and  they, 
as  the  men  also,  in  opera  or  ball  costume.  The  music  was  excel- 
lent, and  the  dancing  of  course  good,  as  all  Spaniards  and  their 
descendants  dance  well  and  gracefully.  I  can  scarcely  enumerate 
the  dances,  waltzes,  and  gallops,  which  I  witnessed,  but  what  I 
enjoyed  the  most  was  the  national  dance,  "  Sama  Cueca^''^  which 
has  been  so  frequently  described  by  travellers  and  voyagers. 

There  appears,  by  the  way,  to  be  an  erroneous  impres- 
sion existing  among  many  who  have  alluded  to  this  dance, 
that  it  is  indecent, — an  impression  arising  from  the  fact  of 
their  having  seen  it  only  at  the  fandango  and  among  the 
lowest  class  of  people.  There,  it,  as  well  as  most  other 
dances,  is  certainly  far  from  modest,  but  when  the  "  Sama 


26  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


CutccC''  is  danced,  as  I  have  frequently  seen  ifc,  among  the  most 
respectable  people  in  Chili  and  the  other  side  of  the  Cordilleras^ 
it  is  as  pleasing  and  more  expressive  than  any  other  dance  I  have 
seen,  and  tenfold  more  so  than  either  the  waltz  or  the  sensual 
polka,  which  has  attained  so  high  a  degree  of  popularity  in 
Europe  and  both  Americas.  The  masked  males  at  these  balls, 
which  occur  almost  weekly,  comprise  many  of  the  most  respect- 
able persons  in  Valparaiso  ;  for  the  masked  females  I  cannot  say 
so  much,  and  from  what  I  saw  and  heard,  am  afraid  that  the  ma- 
jority were  of  that  class  which  so  much  abound  in  frequented  sea- 
ports, and  "  not  so  good  as  they  ought  to  be."  The  better  class 
of  women,  however,  do  not  deprive  themselves  of  the  amusements 
of  the  evening,  being  perfectly  safe  from  annoyance  owing  to  the 
efficient  police  ;  and  although  they  do  n)t  mask,  or  join  in  the 
dances,  are  found  seated  in  the  boxes,  where  they  enjoy  the  gay 
scene  which  is  passing  around  them,  which  is  more  amusing,  as 
every  individual,  upon  adopting  a  costume,  makes  the  same  effort 
to  support  the  character  as  if  upon  the  stage  performing  for  an 
audience.  This  fact,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  ball  which  I  at- 
tended, narrowly  escaped  being  the  cause  of  a  serious  difficulty, 
as  one  of  my  friends,  who  was  masked,  was  once  or  twice  par- 
tially tripped,  while  waltzing,  by  an  active  young  lad,  who  personi- 
fied the  juggler,  and  being  indignant  thereat,  took  his  partner  to 
her  seat,  and  watched  for  his  tormentor.  It  was  not  lono*  before 
he  saw  him  in  the  act  of  throwing  himself  at  length  upon  the 
stage  to  trip  a  pair  who  were  waltzing.  My  friend  had  him  by 
the  collar  in  an  instant,  and  gave  him  a  shaking  which  was  likely 
to  drive  all  juggling  tricks  from  his  mind  for  a  season,  at  the 
same  time  explaining  his  offence  to  the  bystanders  in  the  most 
fluent  but  not  the  most  classical  Spanish.  Fearful  of  a  scene, 
the  terminus  of  which  my  imagination  suggested  would  be  the 
watch-house  at  least,  if  not  the  town  jail,  I  interposed,  and  after 
some  explanation,  the  whole  matter  was  settled  as  a  mistake,  the 
harlequin  kindly  overlooking  the  shaking  to  which  his  tricks  had 
subjected  him.    It  had,  however,  a  good  effect  upon  him,  as  he  at- 


CiTY  OF  VALPARAISO. 


27 


tempted  no  more  pranks  with  the  waltzers.  Though  he  knew  his 
countrymen  would  submit  to  it,  as  an  immemorial  custom,  he  did 
not  feel  certain,  that  as  all  the  dancers  were  masked,  he  might  not 
rouse  another  foreigner  who  might  treat  him  even  more  roughly 
than  the  first.  The  police  of  Valparaiso  has  deservedly  received 
the  encomiums  of  all  recent  travellers.  Its  organization  assimi- 
lates to  the  military,  and  its  members  are  armed  and  distinguished 
by  uniform,  though  entirely  independent  of  the  army,  and  under 
the  control  of  the  municipal  authorities.  The  uniform  and  arms 
have  given  offence  to  some  over  sensitive  writers,  who  mistake 
the  shadow  of  liberty  for  the  substance  ;  but  for  my  own  part, 
should  I  wish  to  exercise  my  prerogative  as  a  free  and  independent 
citizen  by  making  a  row  in  the  streets,  I  should  infinitely  prefer 
a  collision  with  a  police  force  armed  with  swords,  which  are  never 
used  except  in  cases  of  emergency,  than  with  the  batons,  maces, 
persuaders,  etc.,  of  our  own  country,  which  are  used  unsparingly 
and  unnecessarily. 

The  effective  force,  independent  of  the  staff,  at  the  period  of 
my  visit,  was  thirty-four  foot  and  twenty-eight  horsemen."^ 

^  The  uniform  of  the  police  seems  to  have  given  offence  to  the  fastidious 
Commander  Wilkes,  in  whose  Exploring  Expedition  narrative  appear  the 
following  opinions,  which  follow  upon  a  panegyric  upon  their  corps  :  "  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  this  police  should  continue  to  wear  the  military  uni- 
form, as  it  seems  unbecoming  in  a  republican  form  of  government;  at  least 
we  thought  so.''— Vol,  i.  p.  169. 

It  is  a  subject  worthy  of  remark,  the  number  of  customs  which  American 
travellers,  and  I  regret  to  say,  American  officers  especially,  find  in  foreign 
countries,  which  conflict  with  their  highly- wrought  republican  tendencies. 
The  uniform  of  the  Chilian  police  is  intended,  and  serves  admirably  as  a  dis- 
tinguishing mark  by  which  they  may  be  known,  and  called  upon  when  their 
services  are  required,  and  even  Commander  Wilkes  testifies  to  their  general 
usefulness.  Their  uniform,  notwithstanding  the  high  authority  quoted,  is 
not  a  military  uniform,  as  it  is  not  w^orn  by  men  pertaining  to  a  military 
Profession.  Why  does  not  our  author  object  also  to  the  uniform  of 
his  own  profession,  which  has  the  same  object  in  view^  viz-,  to  designate 
the  profession  and  rank  of  its  wearer  ?  I  would  also  like  to  inquire  whic 
is  the  most  republican,  to  have  the  municipal  agents  distinguished  by  a  un. 


28 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Among  the  most  interesting  objects  which  I  saw  during  my 
week's  stay  in  Valparaiso,  were  the  American  transports  convey- 
ing the  2d  Infantry  and  detachments  of  the  1st  and  3d  Artillery, 
on  their  way  to  garrison  our  new  possessions  in  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia. The  streets  are  crowded  with  the  soldiers  on  liberty,  in 
their  neat  undress  uniform.    Their  deportment  was  good,  it 

form,  so  that  aggrieved  citizens  may  call  upon  them  for  their  assistance  and 
culpable  citizens  may  avoid  their  neighbourhood,  or  a  secret  police  undistin- 
guishable  by  the  citizens  at  large,  and  which  is  frequently  no  more  than  an 
extended  system  of  espionage  of  the  rulers.  While  upon  this  subject,  I 
would  refer  the  reader  who  may  be  curious  in  tracing  out  the  consistency  of 
ultra-republican  prejudices,  to  a  letter  addressed  to  Commander  Wilkes,  and 
numbered  xxxviii.  in  the  appendix  to  his  first  volume,  by  his  officers,  asking 
his  mercy  upon  certain  offenders  who  had  merited  his  displeasure  by  being 
engaged  in  a  duel.  It  contains  the  following  expressions  which  w^e  consider 
unbecoming  in  a  republican  form  of  government, — at  least  we  thought  so.'  ^ 
"  We  the  undersigned,  &c.,  &c.,  under  your  command,  respectfully  take  the 
liberty  of  addressing  you  on  the  subject  of  those  officers  who  have  incurred 
your  displeasure  in  consequence  of  having  been  engaged  in  a  duel,  and  whom 
it  is  understood  you  intend  sending  to  the  United  States  with  a  recommenda- 
tion to  the  proper  authority  that  they  may  be  dismissed  the  service.  We 
are  very  far  from  arrogating  to  ourselves  the  right  of  discussing  the  propriety 
of  any  course  you  may  think  proper  to  adopt,  &c.,  &c.,''  followed  by,  "  and  that 
the  decided  expression  of  your  displeasure  will  be  sufficient  to  deter  others 
from  the  commission  of  a  similar  error,  &c.,  &c.'' 

The  letter  wants  nothing  save  the  preamble,  "  if  we  might  speak  and  yet 
live^''  to  be  as  pretty  a  form  for  a  petition  to  an  Eastern  despot,  as  ever  yet 
came  under  my  notice ;  yet  so  far  from  its  having  roused  the  republican 
spleen  of  our  critic  on  foreign  encroachments  upon  republican  simplicity,  in 
his  general  order  he  graciously  accedes  to  the  request  contained  in  this  re- 
markable application.  Every  one  will  commend  the  spirit  which  actuated 
the  memorial,  though  few  will  approve  its  style.  If  the  officers  in  whose 
favour  it  was  written  had  violated  the  regulations  of  the  navy,  the  com- 
mander had  powder  to  punish  or  pardon,  limited  by  the  provisions  of  said 
regulations,  and  his  displeasure  had  nothing  w^hateverto  do  with  the  subject. 

Had  some  of  our  naval  commanders,  like  the  Roman  Preetor  Caius  Ver- 
res,  a  Cicero  to  bring  them  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion,  for  their  own 
arbitrary  acts  while  abroad,  they  would  not  offer  an  outrage  to  the  good  sense 
of  their  countrymen,  by  strictures  upon  a  police  uniform  as  repugnant  to 
their  delicate  sense  of  the  proprieties  of  republicanism. 


CITY  OF  VALPARAISO. 


29 


being  a  rare  occurrence  to  see  one  guilty  of  intoxication,  a  habit 
to  which  soldiers  are  so  frequently  addicted,  and  in  which  they 
are  more  than  usually  liable  to  indulge,  after  coming  from  a  long 
sea-voyage.  As  this  was  the  first  considerable  body  of  American 
troops  which  had  passed  through  Valparaiso,  they  excited  much 
attention,  while  the  erect  bearing,  soldier-like  appearance,  and 
handsome,  though  plain  uniform  of  the  officers,  excited  universal 
admiration,  especially  among  the  Chilian  ladies.  I  saw  a  great 
deal  of  the  officers,  particularly  those  belonging  to  the  detach- 
ments from  the  two  regiments  of  artillery,  during  my  stay,  and  my 
preconceived  ideas  of  the  heroes  of  the  Mexican  war  were  cor- 
roborated. Their  gallantry  and  devotion  to  their  country  history 
has  recorded,  and  could  I  in  the  short  space  allowed  me  give  my 
countrymen  a  more  just  appreciation  of  the  value  of  these  gallant 
fellows,  and  of  the  institution  which  makes  them  what  they  are, 
I  would  willingly  devote  much  time  and  labour.  These  were  the 
men  who  had  served  through  the  war,  and  many  had  left  Mexico 
in  the  month  of  August,  and  here  I  found  them  in  February, 
after  a  tedious  sea-voyage,  on  the  other  side  of  the  continent,  and 
on  their  way  to  the  wilds  of  Oregon  and  California.  These  are 
the  men  who  are  so  frequently  accused  of  being  a  useless  tax 
upon  their  countrymen  by  factious  demagogues,  who  are  either 
jealous  of  their  superior  education  and  acquirements,  or  desirous  to 
make  political  capital,  by  attacking  existing  institutions.  When 
listening  to  such  unmerited  abuse,  few  care  to  remember  the  ser- 
vices rendered,  not  only  during  the  war,  but  when  other  citizens 
are  enjoying  the  peace  and  prosperity  in  many  cases  secured  by 
their  privations  and  dangers.  How  seldom  in  those  attacks  are 
considered  their  protracted  campaigns  in  Indian  territories,  or 
their  tedious  stays  of  years  at  the  frontier  posts,  where  they  are 
not  only  deprived  of  the  society  of  their  own  families,  but  utterly 
beyond  the  reach  of  all  society  whatever,  except  that  of  their 
fellow  sufferers!  Their  pay  is  barely  sufficient  to  support  them, 
and  yet  this  small  sum  is  made  a  subject  matter  upon  which  to 
found  a  tirade  of  abuse.    The  injustice  of  the  demagogues  is  un- 


30  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


fortunately  at  times,  and  indeed  frequently,  imitated^by  not  only 
the  executive,  but  the  legislature,  upon  the  principle  apparently 
that  men  who  are  not  educated  for  a  particular  profession  are 
more  competent  to  perform  the  duties  pertaining  to  it  than  those 
who  have  been.  G-eneral  officers  are  ferreted  out  of  lawyers' 
offices  to  command  veteran  colonels,  and  even  brigadier  generals^ 
whose  claim  for  distinction  rests  not  only  on  thirty  years'  active 
and  arduous  service,  but  upon  the  gallantry  with  which,  during 
the  last  war  in  which  the  country  was  engaged  with  England, 
they  encountered  more  formidable  opponents.  After  half  a  life- 
time meritoriously  passed  in  the  service,  which  unfits  a  man  for 
civil  pursuits,  it  is  too  late  for  the  veteran  to  resent  the  affront, 
and  necessity  forces  him  to  degrade  a  noble  and  scientific  profes- 
sion, by  serving  under  an  ignoramus,  or  at  least  a  man  whose 
only  claim  to  his  exalted  position  consists  in  his  political  influ- 
ence, or  his  personal  friendship  with  the  Executive.  When  Con- 
gress, too,  votes  an  increase  of  the  establishment  by  an  addition 
of  a  regiment,  instead  of  availing  themselves  of  the  services  of 
officers  already  in  the  army,  fully  competent  from  education  and 
the  exercise  of  their  profession  for  many  years,  under  circum- 
stances which  would  discourage  most  men  ;  again,  the  Executive, 
with  a  view  perhaps  to  a  reelection  or  some  other  reason  which 
I  can  neither  understand  nor  appreciate,  officers  the  regiment  from 
civil  life,  with  no  reference  whatever  to  the  capabilities  of  the 
persons  thus  appointed,  but  with  direct  reference  to  the  recom- 
mendations of  prominent  politicians  of  their  own  party,  and  the 
claims  of  personal  friends  who  wish  to  be  provided  for  ;  and  thus 
officers,  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  country,  expending 
many  years  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  a  profession  which  re- 
quires time  to  master,  are  frequently  placed  under  the  command  of 
mere  adventurers,  without  education  or  character  ;  frequently  the 
black  sheep  of  some  influential  political  families,  who  are  thus 
provided  for  by  their  provident  kinsmen,  upon  whom  Providence 
and  the  Executive  have  smiled. 

Yet  notwithstanding  these  acts  of  injustice,  in  themselves 


CITY  OF  VALPARAISO 


31 


palpable  to  the  most  humble  capacity  when  properly  explained, 
I  have  never  heard  an  officer  in  the  army  complain.  They  have 
become  accustomed  to  contumely  and  injustice  ;  their  past  ex- 
perience leads  them  to  expect  it.  One  would  suppose  that  the 
Executive  of  a  great  nation  like  our  own  might  be  free  from  the 
influence  of  this  petty  electioneering  feeling,  at  least  when  about 
to  leave  his  exalted  station  and  political  life  forever ;  but,  un- 
happily, such  does  not  appear  to  be  the  case  ;  and  the  last  Mes- 
sage of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  near  the  close  of 
1848,  would  fain  give  not  their  due  share,  but  all  the  credit  of 
the  brilliant  victories  gained  over  the  Mexicans,  to  the  volun- 
teers, without  alluding  to  the  services  of  the  regular  troops  and 
officers.  This,  then,  is  not  the  gratitude — republics  have  been 
conceded  as  ungrateful— but  this  is  the  justice  of  a  republic  and 
its  chief  magistrate,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies.  I 
have  no  wish  to  depreciate  the  services  of  the  volunteer  troops ; 
on  the  contrary,  I  believe  they  behaved  as  well  as  could  have  been 
expected  during  the  war,  and  to  them  even  I  would  be  willing  to 
refer  the  claims  of  the  regular  army  ;  but  I  would  inquire  which 
species  of  force  have  borne  the  brunt  of  all  battles  in  which  our 
troops  have  been  engaged — which  was  the  most  economical  to  the 
government  at  home — which  the  most  useful  during  the  activity 
of  a  campaign,  and  the  monotony  of  a  garrison  ;  and  which,  by 
their  deportment,  most  likely  to  disarm  isolated  resistance,  and 
elevate  our  national  character,  not  only  in  the  eyes  of  disinterested 
foreigners,  but  those  of  our  enemies  ?  These  questions  I  would 
fearlessly  propound  to  the  volunteers  themselves,  believing  firmly 
that  men  who  have  gallantry  enough  to  brave  the  dangers  of 
battle  and  disease,  to  fight  their  country's  battles,  will  also  have 
candor  enough  to  acknowledge  the  claims  of  their  companions  in 
arms,  whose  gallantry  and  discipline  it  was  their  highest  ambition 
to  emulate.  Notwithstanding  our  late  President,  my  late  com- 
mander-in-chief, throws  the  whole  credit  of  a  creditable  war  into 
the  scale  of  our  citizen  countrymen,  it  will  not  be  perhaps  dis- 
respectful to  inquire,  where  were  the  volunteer  troops  at  the 


32 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


"battles  of  "  Palo  Alto'^^  and  "  Resaca  de  la  Palma  ?" — battles 
which  gave  a  prestige  to  the  whole  subsequent  war.  It  was  only 
when  the  Mexicans  had  been  beaten,  that  enthusiasm  rose  to  its 
height,  and  volunteers  crowded  in  to  share  the  laurels  of  the 
army  on  the  Rio  Grande.  Who  planned  the  campaign  of  the 
Rio  Grande } — the  assault  of  Monterey  }  but  an  officer,  whose  life 
had  been  passed  in  the  career  of  arms ;  and  who  were  the  most 
prominent  in  executing  his  plans  of  attack,  but  the  generals, 
officers,  and  men,  whose  education  made  them  most  competent 
to  understand  them  }  To  the  artillery  of  the  regular  force,  who 
supplied  their  want  of  numbers  by  their  devoted  gallantry,  was 
due  the  success  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vis^a,^^  or  Angus- 
turaP  For  two  days  the  volunteers  fought  well,  with  occasional 
exceptions.  There  was  an  enemy  in  their  rear,  as  well  as  in 
front,  which  perhaps  prevented  those  who  fled  from  leaving 
the  battle-field  entirely  ;  but  on  the  third  day,  when  the  com- 
mander-in-chief wished  again  to  display  his  troops  in  line-of- 
battle  for  a  last  effi3rtj  should  the  Mexicans  again  attack  them, 
they  could  not  be  brought  on  the  field  ;  and  had  the  contest  re- 
commenced, defeat,  which  had  been  for  two  days  prevented  by 
the  efforts  of  the  1st  Artillery  and  heroism  of  the  commanding 
general,  would  have  been  the  inevitable  consequence.  The 
volunteers  are  said  to  have  been  much  ashamed  of  their  deport- 
ment for  some  time  after  the  battle,  but  finding  that  public 
opinion  and  its  newspaper  exponents  had  made  them  heroes, 
they,  in  turn,  assumed  the  credit  of  the  victory,  while  those  who 
had  fought  the  battle  were  speedily  forgotten  not  only  by  the 
public,  but  by  the  Executive,  their  natural  protector. 

At  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  the  government,  instead  of  availing 
themselves  of  the  services  of  a  lawyer  recently  transformed  into 
a  general  by  executive  favoritism,  sent  the  colonel  commanding 
the  Engineer  Corps  to  conduct  the  operations,  while  in  all 
strategical  as  well  as  tactical  operations  during  the  war,  it  was 
the  genius,  knowledge,  and  experience  of  the  educated  officer 
which  presided  ;  and  it  was  upon  the  regular  troops  that  he  de- 


CITY  OF  VALPARAISO. 


33 


pended,  during  the  protracted  movements  in  the  field,  as  volun- 
teers, though  by  no  means  inefficient  in  the  face  of  an  enemy,  be- 
come totally  demoralized  in  a  long  campaign,  or  when  confined 
to  the  ordinary  routine  of  a  garrison. 

If  the  subaltern  officers  and  privates  of  volunteers,  who  served 
during  the  Mexican  war,  would  not,  in  the  event  of  again  taking 
the  field,  prefer  to  be  commanded  by  officers  belonging  to  the 
regular  military  establishment,  who  would  ensure  efficiency  and 
kind  treatment,  rather  than  those  selected  from  civil  life,  who 
have  neither  the  tact  to  make  the  men  happy  and  comfortable,  nor 
the  knowledge  necessary  to  make  them  efficient  soldiers,  I  am 
greatly  mistaken,  and  have  been  greatly  deceived  by  the  many 
with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject. 


CHAPTER  III. 


JOURNEY   TO  SANTIAGO. 


On  about  the  18th  of  February,  I  commenced  looking  out  for 
a  conveyance  to  Santiago,  and  very  soon  found  myself  surrounded 
by  individuals  who  were  ambitious  of  the  honour  and  profit  to  be 
derived  from  my  transportation,  as  three  of  my  companions,  mer- 
chants from  San  Francisco,  on  their  way  to  the  United  States  by 
the  steamer,  had  also  intended  to  while  away  the  week  which  yet 
remained  to  them,  by  passing  it  in  the  capital  of  the  republic.  I 
was  under  the  necessity  of  contracting  for  two  birlochas,  as  one  of 
these  vehicles  will  accommodate  but  two  persons.  After  con- 
siderable chaffering,  the  best  terms  I  could  obtain,  was  at  the 
rate  of  an  ounce  and  a  half  for  each  vehicle,  being  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  $52  50  for  the  transporting  four  persons  a  distance 
of  ninety  miles,  over  a  good  road.  After  the  contract  had  been 
closed,  which  I  did  only  when  I  found  that  nothing  better  could 
be  done,  the  capitaz  or  head  man  left  one-fourth  of  an  ounce 
in  my  hands,  as  a  security  that  he  would  fulfil  his  engagement — a 
superfluous  form,  as  it  was  too  much  his  interest,  or  that  of  his 
employer,  to  suppose  for  a  moment  that  he  would  fail  in  his 
stipulations.  On  the  following  day,  accordingly,  the  two  birlochas 
were  at  the  door  of  the  Hotel  do  Europa  some  time  before  the 
appointed  hour.  An  unexpected  circumstance,  the  arrival  of  an 
old  and  intimate  friend  of  one  of  my  companions,  on  his  way  to 
California,  prevented  our  having  the  pleasure  of  his  society  in 
Santiago,  and  on  the  road ;  a  circumstanoe  which  I  personally 


JOURNEY  TO  SANTIAGO. 


35 


regretted  the  more,  as  he  was  not  only  one  of  the  finest  speci- 
mens of  the  American  gentleman  I  had  met  abroad,  but  one 
with  whom  an  intimate  acquaintance  had  been  the  means  of  ob- 
taining m  J  warmest  friendship.  Notwithstanding  our  disappoint- 
ment, we  could  obtain  no  reduction  on  the  part  of  our capitaz," 
who  insisted  upon  the  fulfilment  of  the  contract ;  so,  after  taking 
a  kind  leave  of  our  friends,  whom  I  was  not  likely  to  meetibr 
some  time,  if  ever,  we  started  from  Valparaiso  on  our  way  to 
the  capital  about  3  o'clock  p.  m.,  previously  notifying  our  worthy 
host,  that  my  two  friends  would  return  to  Valparaiso,  and  his 
house,  at  the  expiration  of  a  week.  Through  the  streets  of  the 
city  we  proceeded  at  a  moderate  pace,  and  with  only  two  horses, 
but  as  soon  as  outside,  we  were  joined  by  another  peon,  and 
horses  enough  to  raise  the  whole  number  to  twenty,  for  the  two 
vehicles — eight  for  each  being  driven  by  the  extra  peon,  while  two 
only  were  attached  to  the  carriage,  except  in  ascending  a  hill, 
when  one  of  the  drivers,  first  sending  the  horses  ahead,  would  at- 
tach an  extra  trace  to  a  ring  in  the  saddle,  and  assist  in  dragging 
us  up  the  ascent.  As,  however,  this  description  may  be  somewhat 
obscure,  I  will,  before  proceeding  further,  describe  the  birlocha  and 
its  arrangements,  external  and  internal,  as  well  as  its  means 
of  locomotion.  The  birlocha,  then,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
a  rough  imitation  of  the  gig  used  in  our  own  country,  though  per- 
haps somewhat  more  strongly  built,  and  more  rude  in  workman- 
ship. One  horse  is  placed  within  the  shafts,  upon  whom  devolves 
the  support  of  the  vehicle  and  passengers,  as  well  as  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  propulsive  force.  Another  horse  is  attached  by  a 
single  trace  on  the  left  of  the  shaft  horse,  and  on  him  is  seated 
the  driver,  who,  with  powerful  bits,  controls  the  movements  of 
both  animals.  Upon  ascending  a  hill,  however,  and  sometimes 
on  level  ground,  a  third  horse  is  attached  to  the  vehicle,  by  means 
of  a  trace  on  the  right  of  the  shafts,  which  is  hooked  to  a  ring  on 
the  girth  of  the  horse  belonging  to  another  peon.  This  trace, 
when  not  in  use,  is  hooked  on  to  the  gear  of  the  shaft  horse.  As 
the  horses  would  frequently  tire  during  the  distance,  and  relays 


38  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


nofc  being  understood  or  adopted,  ten  horses  are  driven  with  each 
vehicle,  two  under  ordinary  circumstances  being  attached  to  it, 
one  mounted  by  the  pean,  who  drives  spare  horses,  and  assists 
while  ascending  a  hill,  and  seven  at  large.  These  spare  horses 
are  substituted  for  those  attached  to  the  birlocha,  at  various 
periods  of  the  journey. 

We  were  very  far  from  being  in  an  amiable  mood  with  our 
conductors  when  starting,  nor  was  our  disposition  much  molli- 
fied at  finding  that  our  "  capitaz"  had  supplied  the  weight  of  our 
friend,  who  was  left  in  Valparaiso,  by  lashing  behind  the  birlocha 
a  large  box,  which  he  was  doubtless  conveying  on  freight  to  the 
capital,  and  when  just  outside  of  the  city,  we  were  called  upon  to 
pay  the  peage  or  toll  for  the  two  carriages,  which  we  felt  well 
assured,  from  previous  inquiries,  should  be  paid  by  the  proprietors 
of  the  vehicle.  Against  this  imposition,  which  was  insignificant 
in  amount,  I  made  a  most  steady  stand ;  but  in  the  end,  however, 
it  terminated  as  might  have  been  anticipated,  and  we  were  obliged 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  toll-gatherer,  whom  we  had  reason 
to  believe  as  great  a  rascal  as  our  conductors,  as  he  would  not 
decide  in  our  favour,  when  the  question  of  the  payment  was  refer- 
red to  him.  Leaving  the  city,  we  immediately  commenced  as- 
cending the  range  of  hills  by  a  zigzag  road,  which  was  well  con- 
structed and  firm,  though  steep, — rather  too  much  so,  I  should 
suppose,  to  be  safe  for  four-wheeled  vehicles.^  From  the  summit, 
which  was  garnished  by  divers  windmills,  whose  enormous  arms, 
leisurely  revolving  in  the  genial  freshness  of  the  constant  south- 
east trades,  gave  a  vivid  impression  of  the  "  dolce  far  niente,"  we 
had  a  beautiful  view  of  the  bay  and  city  which  we  had  just  left. 

As  I  turned  to  take  nay  last  look  of  the  Pacific,  upon  whose 
bosom,  owing  to  the  caprices  of  fortune,  and  those  in  authority,  I 

=^  This  road  was  constructed  by  Brigadier  D.  Ambrose  O'Higgins,  of  Bal- 
lenar,  in  Ireland,  who  became  Governor  of  Chili  in  1788,  and  remained 
until  1802,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  Vice- Royalty  of  Peru,  then  the 
metropolis  of  the  Spanish  possessions  in  America,  To  him  also  is  due  the 
carriage  road  from  Valparaiso  to  Quillota  and  Aconcagua. 


JOURNEY  TO  SANTIAGO. 


37 


iad  passed  some  of  the  most  disagreeable  months  of  my  naval 
Career,  I  could  still  discern  the  massive  black  hull  of  the  old 
Lexington,"  between  which  and  myself  was  commencing  a 
race  to  Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  chances  of  victory  were  in  my 
favour,  as  I  had  several  days'  start,  and  had  not  more  than  one- 
fourth  the  distance  to  travel,  while  she  was  by  no  means  noted 
for  her  speed  ;  her  head  winds  and  calms  might  be  considered 
an  offset  to  my  delays  on  the  road.  Though  I  confidently  antici- 
pated rejoining  her  at  Rio,  it  was  not  without  regret  I  took 
what  might  be  my  last  look  of  the  now  distant  vessel,  in  which  I 
had  passed  some  eighty  pleasant  days,  and  which  contained  seve- 
ral gentlemen,  who  knew  so  well  how  to  fulfil  the  rites  of  hos- 
pitality, and  to  make  a  sojourner's  time  pass  agreeably  to  him. 

In  these  feelings  my  companions  sympathized,  as  none  of  us 
could  part,  even  for  a  season,  from  those  agreeable  companions, 
without  feelings  of  strong  regret. 

The  birlocheros  of  Chili  are  famous  for  their  skill  and 
rapidity  in  driving  ;  of  this,  until  our  arrival  on  the  summit,  we 
had  no  specimen,  as  through  the  city  our  progress  had  been  slow, 
owing  to  the  police  regulations,  and  in  the  ascent,  owing  to  the 
steepness  ;  but  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  we  were  to  be  con- 
vinced that  common  rumour,  and  the  opinions  of  travellers,  had  done 
them  no  more  than  justice.  Without  stopping,  the  spare  horse, 
which  his  rider  secured  by  a  single  trace  to  the  vehicle,  to  assist 
in  the  ascent,  was  unhooked,  and  the  trace  thrown  over  the  dash- 
board, while  they  dashed  off  like  Bedouin  horse  and  rider,  to  as- 
sist in  driving  the  spare  animals.  Meanwhile  the  driver  was  not 
idle,  but  plying  his  whip  on  the  shaft  horse,  and  his  spurs  upon 
that  on  which  he  rode,  and  occasionally  by  a  dexterous  turn  of 
the  heel,  on  the  flanks  of  the  other,  away  we  dashed  at  a  gallop, 
up  and  down  the  gentle  ascents  which  we  met  afterwards,  no 
pity  for  the  horses,  and  no  mercy  for  the  unfortunate  inmates  of 
the  vehicle,  our  sole  object  being  to  retain  our  seats,  as  a  shock 
might  at  any  moment  precipitate  us  over  the  heads  of  the  horses, 
at  the  furious  rate  at  which  we  were  now  travelling.  Generally 
3 


38 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


both  horses  galloped,  but  at  times  only  that  of  the  rider,  while 
the  shaft  horse,  which  is  selected  on  account  of  his  speed,  would 
only  trot — an  arrangement  not  only  convenient  for  the  beast,  but 
for  the  driver,  as  on  a  long  journey,  as  I  have  sufficient  cause 
to  know,  the  gallop  is  much  the  easiest  pace  of  the  two.  Nor  is 
it  by  any  means  an  ungraceful  mode  of  driving,  as  while  the 
shaft  horse  is  trotting  rapidly,  the  horse  upon  which  the  driver  is 
seated,  is  prancing  by  his  side,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the 
leading  horse  in  a  tandem,  the  length  of  his  trace,  and  the  fact 
of  his  having  but  one,  allowing  that  peculiar  sidelong  gait. 

Owing  to  the  rate  of  travelling,  our  observations  on  the  sur- 
rounding scenery  were  somewhat  limited.  No  one  that  I  am  aware 
of,  has  undertaken  the  description  of  a  country  after  traversing 
it  in  tow  of  a  locomotive  :  and  our  rate  of  travellingr  was  some- 
what  of  the  same  character,  the  deficiency  in  speed  being  more 
than  compensated  by  the  absolute  necessity  of  paying  constant 
attention  to  a  more  important  subject,  viz.,  keeping  our  seats  in 
the  vehicle,  which  was,  at  times,  no  easy  matter.  Passing  the 
mills,  however,  "  en  volant,''^  I  noticed  a  straoforlino-  villao^e  contain- 
ing  some  two  or  three  hundred  inhabitants  ;  and  owing  to  a 
glimpse  obtained  of  a  sign  in  passing,  was  induced  to  believe  that 
its  name  had  some  reference  to  the  mills  above  mentioned.  I 
saw  also,  in  plain  English,  upon  a  sign  in  front  of  a  small  house 
in  this  village,  a  broad  Irish  name  (O'Calligan,  I  think),  pur- 
porting that  there  was  entertainment  for  man  and  baste.  The 
country  over  which  we  passed  this  evening  was  undulating,  and 
though  thickly  inhabited,  did  not  strike  me  as  either  very  fertile 
or  well  cultivated,  until  near  Casa  Blanca,  where  we  arrived  an 
hour  before  sunset.  This  village,  which  is  thirty  miles  distant 
from  Yalparaiso,  is,  according  to  Wilkes,  at  an  elevation  of  five 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  feet,  and  according  to  the  samf^  authority, 
contains  five  hundred  inhabitants  ;  we  were  informed,  however, 
that  it  contained  more,  but  as  the  inhabitants  of  Chili,  in 
their  estimate  of  a  town,  include  the  whole  municipality,  I 
am  inclined  to  adopt  the  estimate  of  Commander  Wilkes,  as 


JOURNEY  TO  SANTIAGO. 


39 


being,  at  least,  an  approximation.  It  is  a  straggling  village,  the 
greater  portion  of  which  is  on  a  single  street.  The  houses  are 
generally  well  built,  each  having  a  garden  attached,  in  which 
Lombardy  poplars  were  the  most  prominent  production.  Before 
leaving  Valparaiso,  we  had  been  recommended  to  tarry  all  night 
at  Casa  Blanca  ;  and,  as  an  additional  recommendation,  we  were 
informed  that  the  hotel  was  kept  by  an  Englishman,  to  whom  a 
message  was  sent,  that  he  might  give  us  a  good  reception.  This 
arrangement,  however,  upon  which  we  had  determined  definitive- 
ly, did  not  accord  with  the  arrangements  of  our  peones,  who  had 
made  up  their  minds  to  pass  the  night  at  Curucubi,  a  village  about 
six  hours  nearer  Santiago  ;  but  after  a  protracted  dispute  of  half 
an  hour,  which  terminated  only  when  I  threatened  to  knock  the 
"  capitaz  "  down,  we  carried  our  point,  and  had  the  vehicles 
drawn  within  the  square  upon  which  the  hotel  was  constructed. 
Our  pertinacious  persecutor  then  applied  for  money  to  feed  his 
horse,  himself,  and  companions,  stating  that  Curucubi  was  his 
regular  baiting-place,  and  that  he  had  no  authority  from  his  mas- 
ter to  pass  the  night  elsewhere.  Knowing  this  to  be  untrue,  I 
reminded  him  of  the  contract,  which  he  was  so  pertinacious  in 
exacting  while  in  his  favor  ;  threatened  to  make  him  leave  the 
freight  which  he  had  taken  in  lieu  of  the  passage  for  which  we 
paid  ;  finally  dismissed  him  with  what  sailors  term  a  left-handed 
blessing,  and  the  positive  announcement  that  we  would  not  pay 
him  a  single  cuartillo,*  for  either  him  or  his  horses, — a  decision, 
however,  which  we  were  induced  to  modify,  when  our  host  in- 
formed us  that  it  was  by  no  means  unfrequent  for  the  drivers 
who  were  dissatisfied  with  their  fares,  to  tilt  them  accidentally 
into  some  ditch,  by  which  translation,  legs,  arms,  &c.,  were  fre- 
quently damaged.  In  corroboration,  he  mentioned  a  recent  oc- 
currence, in  which  two  Frenchmen  had  been  severely  injured, 
nor  did  his  announcement  that  both  "  capitaz  "  and  driver  were 
sent  to  the  galleys  for  the  crime,  entirely  relieve  my  mind.  So, 
as  a  sort  of  compromise  for  our  own  safety,  and  with  due  refer- 

*  A  quarter  of  a  real  j  three  cents. 


40 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


ence  to  our  dignity  and  the  inviolability  of  our  decisions,  I  sent 
for  the  drivers,  and,  announcing  myself  perfectly  satisfied  with 
their  conduct,  granted  to  them  what  we  had  refused  to  the 
"  capitaz,"  for  whom  we  did  not  pretend  to  conceal  our  disgust, 
and  hinted  vaguely,  that  if  their  conduct  continued  to  give  us 
satisfaction,  they  might  receive  some  further  compensation.  This 
was  a  sop  to  Cerberus,  which  I  am  induced  to  believe  was  at  least 
prudent ;  because  these  rascals,  riding  themselves  in  perfect 
safety  on  their  horses,  have  an  excellent  opportunity  of  capsizing 
passengers  who  have  made  themselves  disagreeable  ;  and  unless 
they  have  been  so  imprudent  as  to  threaten  to  do  so  beforehand, 
with  perfect  impunity,  as  it  would  pass  current  for  one  of  the 
accidents  to  which  their  rapid  rate  of  driving  renders  them  liable. 
Our  hotel,  which,  having  carried  our  point  with  the  Capitaz," 
and  laid  out  an  anchor  to  windward"  for  our  future  security, 
we  had  now  leisure  to  examine,  was  an  extensive  edifice,  or  rather 
collection  of  edifices,  enclosing  a  square,  into  which  all  vehicles 
were  driven  and  left  for  security  during  the  night.  A  large  gate 
opening  from  this  square  led  to  a  court-yard,  into  which  the  horses 
were  driven,  and  where  they  were  fed.  All  the  offices,  kitchens, 
etc.,  belonging  to  a  regular  farm-house,  are  upon  this  square, 
which,  while  it  possesses  advantages  in  security  against  theft, 
and  compactness  in  the  whole  establishment,  has,  as  we  had 
reason  to  believe,  before  falling  asleep,  certain  inconveniences 
which  would  prevent  our  adopting  it  in  a  country  infested  as 
Chili,  by  fleas.  This  is  the  ordinary  arrangement  of  not  only  all 
the  Posados^  or  hostelries,  in  Chili,  but  of  their  farm-houses  also. 
Although  we  had  left  a  sweltering  population  in  Valparaiso,  and 
though  the  warmest  month  in  the  year,  the  elevation  we  had 
attained  caused  the  temperature  to  fall  far  below  the  comfortable 
point,  as  soon  as  the  day  closed  ;  and  we  were  fain  to  imitate 
some  travellers  who  had  arrived  soon  after  us  on  horseback,  and 
cluster  round  a  really  red  hot  stove.  This  sudden  decrease  of 
temperature  appears  greater  than  is  due  to  elevation,  and  we 
were  assured  by  mine  host  that  it  was  the  rule  and  not  the  excep- 


JOURNEY  TO  SANTIAGO. 


41 


tion,  as  we  first  supposed,  and  that  a  fire  was  kept  burning  in  the 
stove  almost  every  night  in  the  year.  Our  fellow  travellers  were 
English,  apparently  on  a  Saturday  night  and  Sunday  excursion  ; 
but  though  evidently  much  at  home  in  Casa  Blanca  and  with 
mine  host  and  his  family,  with  the  modesty  or  arrogance,  which 
shall  I  call  it  ?  of  their  nation,  they  were  careful  to  show  no 
civility  to  the  strangers  whom  circumstances  had  thus  thrown  in 
their  way.  "We  accordingly  ate  our  suppers  separately,  the 
whole  group  having  divided  into  parties,  whom  the  considerate 
servants,  either  aware  of  national  characteristics,  or  having 
noticed  the  attraction  of  repulsion,  had  placed  as  far  distant 
from  each  other  as  the  long  dining-room  table  would  admit.  As 
our  host  was  neither  disposed  to  be  civil  nor  to  communicate  the 
local  information  he  possessed,  we  had  no  motive  after  our  sup- 
per and  cigar,  to  keep  late  hours  and  accordingly  retired  across 
the  square  to  a  bare-walled,  unfurnished  apartment,  which  was 
destined  to  contain  the  three  of  us  ;  and  having  in  view  the  fact 
that  we  were  to  start  early  in  the  morning,  we  vigorously 
attempted  to  fall  asleep,  notwithstanding  the  practical  phleboto- 
mizing to  which  we  were  immediately  subjected. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SANTIAGO. 

At  about  half-past  two  in  the  morning  we  were  aroused  by 
our  over-wakeful  peons,  whom  either  the  cold  or  fleas  must  have 
kept  alert  during  the  night,  and  informed  that  we  must  dress,  and 
start,  so  as  to  reach  Santiago  before  the  heat  of  the  day,  of  which 
we  had,  on  our  own  account,  about  as  much  dread  as  the  French 
philosopher  who  told  the  priest  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to 
frighten  him  with  the  flames  of  hell  while  he  was  absolutely 
freezing  to  death,  as  it  was  really  so  cold  that  our  teeth  chat- 
tered while  making  our  toilet  and  performing  our  ablutions.  At 
length,  however,  we  emerged,  and  finding  both  vehicles  already 
in  the  street,  we  delayed  only  to  pay  our  bill  to  the  Major  Dorao, 
and  were  off  at  a  gallop  before  the  clocks  of  the  establishment 
had  told  3  A.  M.  If  it  was  cold  within  doors,  it  was  infinitely 
more  so  without,  as  our  rate  of  travelling,  combined  with  a  smart 
breeze  in  our  faces,  chilled  us  most  effectually,  notwithstanding  a 
heavy  cloth  cloak  which  I  had  taken  the  precaution  to  bring,  and 
with  which  Mr.  W.  and  myself  covered  ourselves  while  cowering 
in  a  corner  of  the  vehicle,  where  we  had  retired  to  enjoy  the 
mutual  warmth  arising  from  each  other's  persons.  As  it  was  for 
a  long  time  dark,  we  could  arrive  at  no  very  definite  conclusions 
in  regard  to  the  country  over  which  we  passed  so  rapidly.  We 
observed  only,  that  it  was  thickly  populated,  apparently  well 
cultivated  and  fertile,  and  that  the  roads  upon  which  we  travelled 
were  smooth  and  firm,  with  no  considerable  elevations  or  depres- 


SANTIAGO. 


43 


sions,  as  it  followed  tlie  course  of  the  valley  of  Casa  Blanca. 
Before  it  was  quite  light  we  had  left  the  valley,  and  attained  by 
a  zif>'zag  road  the  summit  of  the  Cuesta  de  Lapata,  from  which 
we  had  a  pretty  view  of  the  valley  we  had  just  left ;  although  it 
was  yet  too  dark  to  derive  the  greatest  advantage  from  our  fine 
point  of  observation. 

As  the  temperature  was  still  low^  and  the  horses  fresh,  we 
ascended  the  hill  at  a  brisk  trot ;  and,  upon  attaining  the  summit, 
set  off  in  a  round  gallop,  which,  owing  to  the  steepness  of  the 
road,  and  its  height  above  the  valley,  into  which  we  would  have 
rolled,  made  our  position  less  agreeable  than  many  which  maybe 
imagined.  The  number  and  extreme  abruptness  of  the  turns, 
wbich  not  unfrequently  led  off  from  the  former  course  at  much 
less  than  a  right  angle,  gave  me  a  nervous  feeling  at  each  one 
as  we  approached  ;  and  more  than  once,  during  our  rapid  de- 
scent, did  I  bless  the  lucky  thought  upon  which  I  acted  when  I 
gave  the  drivers  their  suppers,  and  hinted  a  future  recompense. 
As  things,  however,  must  have  an  end,  so  did  my  anxiety,  and 
the  ascent  of  the  hill,  after  which  a  rapid  gallop  of  a  few  miles 
brought  us  to  the  straggling,  poplar-shadec^  village  of  Curucubi, 
where  we  were  to  change  horses,  and  perform  the  more  impor- 
tant operation  of  breakfasting. 

The  posada  was  nearly  similar  to  the  last,  while  the  food  and 
internal  arrangement  was  more  decidedly  Chilian.  Our  new  host, 
however,  was  not  a  Chilian,  but  an  old  Spaniard,  and,  as  he  in- 
formed me,  a  naval  officer  in  the  Spanish  service  during  the  reign 
of  Ferdinand  YII.  The  prejudices  of  our  host  against  Chili, 
and  in  favour  of  Spain,  were  strong,  even  after  twenty  years' hos- 
pitality on  the  part  of  the  former  government,  and  utter  neglect 
and  want  of  protection  from  the  latter  ;  yet  he  had  adopted  the 
Chilian  style  of  cooking  in  all  its  ramifications.  Our  breakfast, 
in  consequence,  consisted  of  the  invariable  casuila  (home-made), 
of  which,  as  the  reader  will  be  obliged  to  eat  frequently,  if  he  in- 
tends to  accompany  me  in  my  journeys,  he  may  be  allowed  to 
understand  the  ingredients.    The  casuila,  then,  is  nothing  more 


44 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


or  less  than  chicken,  or  chickens,  divided  into  all  the  fractional 
parts  which  the  distribution  of  joints  and  sutures  may  permit, 
boiled  with  salt,  Chili  pepper,  and  any  vegetables  which  may  be 
at  hand,  and  served  up  in  its  own  gravy.  Though  not  rich  or 
delicate,  it  is  far  from  unpalatable,  especially  as  it  is  generally — 
at  least  so  I  found  it,  spiced  with  hunger,  produced  by  a  long 
fast  and  exercise. 

As  the  chickens,  upon  which  we  were  destined  to  breakfastj 
were  satisfying  their  own  appetites  when  we  arrived,  of  course 
some  time  had  to  elapse  before  our  repast  was  ready  ;  which  time 
we  divided  between  the  very  pretty  and  well-irrigated  garden,  the 
pretty  daughter  of  our  host,  and  his  own  long  stories  relative  to 
the  faults  of  the  Chilians,  and  the  virtues,  as  well  as  magnifi- 
cence, of  his  own  country. 

It  is  a  somewhat  curious  fact,  and  one  which  our  countrymen 
might  do  well  to  bear  in  mind,  while  writhing  under  the  abuse, 
deserved  or  not,  of  the  English  tourists,  who  have  done  us  the 
honour  to  gain  money  at  our  expense,  by  pandering  to  the  vicious 
prejudices  of  their  own  countrymen,  that  we  are,  in  this  respect, 
by  no  means  exceptions  to  the  rule,  as  the  old  Spaniard — as  in 
the  case  of  our  host— will  invariably  inform  the  stranger,  with 
much  self-gratulation,  that  heis  not  Chilian,  not  an  Argentine,  nor 
a  member  of  any  other  republic  of  Spanish  origin,  in  which  you 
may  meet  him,  but  that  he  is  an  old  Spania7'd.^^  The  Portu- 
guese in  Brazil  also  will,  after  depreciating  to  strangers  the  na- 
tion whose  hospitality  he  enjoys  in  all  its  ramifications,  announce 
with  a  self-satisfied  air,  that  he  is  from  Lisbon,  Oporto,  Tras- 
montes,  or  some  other  portion  of  the  most  contemptible  country 
boasting  civilization.  There  is  nothing  more  common,  and  ap- 
parently more  natural,  than  to  find  fault  with  a  country  in  which 
we  reside,  and  draw  unfavourable  comparisons  between  it — having 
all  its  faults  before  our  eyes — and  our  own,  whose  faults  are 
softened  by  distance.  Of  this  I  remember  what  I  could  not, 
with  my  feelings  on  the  subject,  but  consider  as  a  remarkable  in- 
stance. It  was  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  in  1842,  I  having  been  de- 


SANTIAGO. 


45 


tained  late  in  the  theatre,  found  myself  locked  out  upon  my  re" 
turn,  and  not  knowing  how  to  obtain  entrance,  wandered  about 
the  streets  for  some  time,  with  a  strong  idea  of  putting  myself 
under  the  charge  of  the  guard,  in  order  to  secure  a  night's  rest 
under  cover.  I  was  not,  however,  driven  to  this  extremity,  as 
meeting  a  stranger,  and  announcing  to  him  my  situation,  inquir- 
ing how  it  might  be  remedied,  he  informed  me,  that  he  knew  of 
no  hotel  which  would  admit  me  at  that  time  of  night,  but  that 
he  was  himself  in  the  same  category,  and  hoped  to  obtain  a  bed 
by  waking  a  friend  in  the  neighbourhood — in  which  case  a  shake- 
down could  be  also  provided  for  me.  We  were  not  disappointed,  as 
his  friend  willingly  conceded  us  a  portion  of  his  accommodations, 
making  for  me  a  tolerable  camp-bed  in  his  shop,  and  sharing  his 
own  bed  with  his  friend.  A  bottle  of  wine  was  also  produced  ; 
and  I  was  exhorted  to  make  myself  perfectly  comfortable,  and 
not  to  have  any  fear,  as  they  were  not  Brazilians^  hut  Italians, 
If  I  had  been  at  all  fearful  before,  which  I  was  not,  this  an- 
nouncement, made  with  much  self-satisfaction,  would  have  been 
far  from  re-assuring  me,  as  my  estimate  of  Italians  was  not  very 
high  ;  and  I  presume  that  assassinations  and  robberies,  in  almost 
every  state  in  that  peninsula,  are  as  ten  to  one  compared  with 
Brazil,  in  the  ratio  of  the  population.  One  of  my  entertainers 
proved  to  be  a  sign-painter,  and  the  other  a  horse-jockey  ;  and 
from  the  morning  that  I  parted  from  them  I  saw  them  no  more, 
as  the  former  changed  his  residence  ;  but  I  frequently  thought 
of  the  circumstance,  as  illustrative  of  that  particular  modi- 
fication assumed  by  our  national  pride,  while  we  are  abroad,  and 
the  disposition  shown  by  a  foreigner  upon  meeting  another,  even 
though  belonging  to  a  dijfferent,  and  perhaps  antagonistic  nation, 
to  abuse  the  country  in  which  he  resides,  and  more  especially 
when  himself  a  native  of  a  country  of  which  his  residence  was 
formerly  a  colonial  possession. 

At  length  our  breakfast  was  prepared,  eaten,  and  paid  for, 
when  we  took  leave  of  our  host,  whose  enduring  patriotism  and 
long  stories  of  the  arsenals  at  Seville,  Barcelona,  and  Cartha- 
3^ 


46  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


gena,  had  rather  disgusted  me.  I  thought  the  former  mis- 
placed, believing  that  a  man  owes  allegiance  not  so  much  to  the 
country  which  accidentally  gave  him  birth  as  that  which  pro- 
tects him  in  his  lawful  industry,  and  enables  him  to  fulfil  the 
purposes  of  creation  by  rearing  his  family  in  comfort ;  while  his 
stories  relative  to  the  latter  I  did  not  believe,  although  prepared 
to  credit  much  in  favour  of  those  once  wonderful  dock-yards.  As 
we  had  now  fresh  horses,  we  travelled  rapidly,  emerging  at  a  dash- 
ing gallop  from  the  village  of  ,  and  keeping  the  same  pace 

as  we  followed  this  valley,  which  resembles  that  of  Casa  Blanca, 
toward  the  Cuesta  del  Prado,  a  very  considerable  hill,  which  we 
had  yet  to  traverse  befdre  reaching  the  valley  in  which  Santiago 
is  situated.  The  scenery  in  this  valley  was  pretty  ;  and  the 
abruptness  with  which  the  hills  on  either  side  rose  from  the 
plain,  are  strongly  corroborative  of  the  theory  of  Darwin  and 
others,  that  these  valleys,  notwithstanding  their  great  elevation 
above  the  sea,  were  beneath  its  waters  within  a  recent  geological 
period. 

The  country  over  which  we  now  passed  was  thickly  settled  and 
well  cultivated,  and,  it  being  Sunday,  many  parties,  male  and 
female,  were  met  on  horseback  in  their  best  bibs  and  tuckers, 
evidently  enjoying  their  holiday  by  paying  visits  to  their  neigh- 
bours and  friends.  Both  males  and  females  rode  well ;  and  many 
of  the  latter  guasifas,  as  they  term  country  girls,  were  quite 
pretty,  and  with  a  good  healthy  colour  on  their  cheeks,  heightened, 
in  many  cases,  by  the  effect  of  the  sun,  which  showed  that  the 
Chilian  females  are  not  excused  entirely  from  labour  pertaining  in 
some  countries  exclusively  to  the  other  sex.  I  observed  farther 
— and  the  same  remark  will  apply  to  all  the  Argentine  provinces 
which  I  traversed — that  the  women  invariably  use  a  side-saddle. 
In  this  respect  it  is  very  different  in  Brazil,  where  the  women 
ride  almost  invariably  "  en  cavalier,"  after  the  manner  of  the 
women  in  France  at  the  epoch  of  Goldsmith's  Chinese  traveller. 
I  cannot,  perhaps,  on  account  of  early  prejudices,  but  look  back 
upon  this  as  an  advance  in  civilization  on  the  part  of  Chilians  and 


SANTIAGO. 


47 


Argentines  ;  nor  do  I  consider  this  improvement,  at  least  in 
Chili,  as  due  to  the  example  of  foreigners,  as  I  saw  many  of  a  con- 
struction without  a  parallel  in  Europe,  and  so  ancient  in  style, 
that  one  could  easily  believe  them  contemporaries  of  Pedro  de 
Valdina,  the  conquestador.  Few  vehicles  were  met  during  our 
journey,  except  two-wheeled  ox-carts,  on  their  way  to  and  from 
Valparaiso,  laden  with  the  productions  of  the  country  for  expor- 
tation, or  foreign  goods  for  the  consumption  of  the  interior. 
They  are  massive,  awkward  affairs,  with  little  or  no  iron  in  their 
construction — a  fact  observable  at  a  distance,  as  the  creaking  of 
the  wheels  upon  the  axles  marks  the  absence  alike  of  that  material 
and  of  grease,  which  would  measurably  modify  this  ear-piercing 
V  sound.  The  cargo  contained,  is  secured  from  the  weather  by  a 
roof  of  either  hides  or  thatch,  on  which  is  secured  the  hay  or 
forage  intended  for  the  animals  during  their  journey.  The  * 
drivers  are  either  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  armed  with  a  goad. 
The  team  consists  of  six  oxen  under  ordinary  circumstances ; 
but  they  are  almost  invariably  accompanied  by  a  second  team, 
as  a  relief,  which  assists  in  ascending  the  hills.  All  these  oxen 
are  yoked  by  the  horns,  instead  of  bearing  a  yoke  over  the  neck, 
as  with  us — a  system  not  without  its  advantages,  as  it  enables 
the  animal  to  exert  his  whole  strength  without  pain  or  injury  to 
his  shoulders.  When  not  required  for  draught,  the  spare  teams, 
with  their  yokes,  traces,  and  all  their  simple  harness  in  its  place, 
are  secured  firmly  to  the  tail  of  the  cart,  in  which  position  they 
render  good  service  in  holding  back,  while  ascending  a  hill — thus 
supplying  the  place  of  locks  to  wheels,  a  contrivance  unknown  in 
Chili,  it  being,  as  is  well  known  to  the  practical,  the  nature  of 
the  beast  to  hold  back"  when  secured  in  this  manner,  with  the 
further  advantageous  peculiarity  of  holding  back  the  harder  the 
faster  he  may  be  dragged  by  the  vehicle.  Whether  this  arrange- 
ment is  intended  or  accidental  I  did  not  learn ;  but,  be  it  as  it 
may,  it  certainly  answers  that  desirable  end.  It  was  after  ten 
A.  M.,  when  we  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  Cuesta  del  Prado, 
and  it  was  then  we  found  our  driver's  predictions  by  no  means  an 


48 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


exaggeration,  as  it  was  intensely  Lot,  and  the  air,  filled  with  fine 
dust,  made  respiration  painful  and  difficult.  The  ascent  was 
slow  and  extremely  tedious  ;  the  road,  consisting  of  zigzags, 
which  appeared  almost  innumerable.*  All  things,  however,  have 
an  end,  and  we  finally  found  ourselves  at  the  summit,  rewarded 
with  a  beautiful  view  of  the  fertile  valley  which  we  had  just  left, 
studded  with  its  groves  and  well  cultivated  fields ;  the  deep  yel- 
low of  the  ripe  grain  on  the  latter  forming  a  pleasing  contrast 
with  the  bright  green  of  the  Lombardy  poplars,  clustering  along 
the  road,  and  frequently  forming  avenues  of  great  length,  reach- 
ing to  the  farm-houses,  which  occupy  a  central  position.  On  the 
other  side  our  view  was  more  extended,  and  with  more  of  gran- 
deur, mingled  with  the  quiet,  rural  beauty  of  the  valley  we  had 
left,  and  which  is  so  characteristic  of  a  Chilian  landscape. 

In  the  view  now  opened  to  us  from  the  summit  of  Cuesta  del 
Prado,  which  is  elevated  2,394  feet  above  sea-level,  we  had 
the  immense  basin  or  valley  of  Santiago,  enclosed  on  all  sides 
save  one  by  hills  of  considerable  elevation  rising  abruptly  like 
islands  out  of  the  sea,  there  being  no  debris  to  give  to  them  a 
gradual  slope.  Bounding  the  eastern  side  of  this  valley  was  the 
majestic  Andes,  standing  like  an  impenetrable  barrier,  beyond 
which  man  should  not  pass.  Peaks  of  the  range  appeared  to 
pierce  the  heavens,  rising  to  the  height  of  more  than  23,000  feet, 
and  were  covered,  for  half  their  height,  by  a  perpetual  garment 
of  snow,  which  may,  for  aught  we  know  to  the  contrary,  have 
been  the  result  of  the  first  snow-storm  which  fell  in  this  region 
after  the  Deluge  ;  for  although  judging  by  our  own  experience 
in  temperate  climates,  we  are  given  to  consider  this  meteor  as 
perishable  and  temporary,  coming  and  going  like  our  summer 
buds,  but  in  inverse  order,  here  it  is  as  imperishable  and  perma- 
nent as  the  rocks  upon  which  it  rests.  Xor  was  this  valley  want- 
ing in  the  less  imposing,  though  more  pleasing,  requisites  for  a 

*  The  number  of  zigzags,  or  caracols,  as  they  are  called  in  Chili,  is  said 
to  be  ninety  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill.  I  did  not  count  them,  but  can 
easily  credit  the  statement. 


SANTIAGO. 


49 


view  of  rural  scenery,  as,  like  that  wbich  we  had  just  traversed, 
its  surface  was  clothed  with  the  green  and  yellow  of  groves, 
meadows,  and  the  ripened  grain.  Our  attention,  however,  was 
soon  recalled,  at  least  measurably,  from  this  fairy  scene  to  the 
realities  of  life,  as  illustrated  by  down-hill  travelling  in  Chili. 
The  road  on  this  slope  differed  considerably  in  construction  from 
that  which  we  had  just  ascended,  as,  owing  to  the  peculiar  con- 
formation of  the  hill,  it  required  fewer  zigzags,  and  followed  for 
the  most  part  a  spur  of  the  hill,  having  the  bank  on  one  side, 
and  a  precipice  on  the  other.  Whether  its  slope  was  in  reality 
greater  than  that  on  the  other  side,  which  I  am  inclined  to  be- 
lieve, or  whether  it  appeared  so  because  we  had  a  large  con- 
tinuous extent  in  view  at  the  same  moment,  it  presented  a  very 
formidable  appearance  ;  and  it  was  difficult  to  conceive  how  horses 
and  carriage,  after  obtaining  an  impetus  in  the  first  descent, 
could  possibly  stop  before  reaching  the  plain  below.  As  usual, 
at  the  summit,  the  spare  horse  was  untraced,  and  we  commenced 
our  rapid  descent;  but  our  shaft-horse,  which  I  afterwards 
learned  upon  particular  inquiry  was  new  and  unaccustomed  to 
harness,  became  fractious  as  soon  as  the  spare  horse  was  taken 
away  from  his  sight.  The  first  zigzag  was  successfully  turned, 
but  at  the  second  he  forced  the  driver  and  his  horse  so  near  the 
precipice,  that  nothing  but  reining  up  prevented  a  visit  to  the 
valley,  some  nine  hundred  feet  below.  Guiding  the  horses  into 
the  middle  of  the  road,  we  again  started  to  accomplish  another 
zigzag ;  at  the  termination  of  which  the  same  scene  was  re- 
peated, and  a  sudden  draw-up  only  saved  us.  Although  some- 
what alarmed  by  the  pranks  of  this  horse  I  did  not  wish  to  dis- 
play my  anxiety,  but  when  the  same  trick  was  repeated  at  the 
third  turn,  and  the  wheel  brought  within  a  foot  of  the  precipice, 
I  jumped  out,  advising  my  friend  to  follow  my  example,  as  with 
an  unbroken  horse  there  could  be  no  safety,  and  we  had  not  even 
the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  the  driver  must  share  our  fate, 
as  he  being  on  horseback  would  probably  escape.  My  friend 
maturely  considered  the  matter,  but,  having  a  new  pair  of  glazed 


50 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


boots  ran  the  risk  of  breaking  his  neck  rather  than  that  of  spoil- 
ing his  boots,  although  he  acknowledged  himself  in  great  bodily 
fear.  After  walking  half  a  mile,  the  descent  having  become 
more  gradual,  and  the  horse  somewhat  more  docile,  I  took  my 
seat  and  proceeded  safely  to  the  foot  of  the  hill.  One  advantage 
at  least  I  derived  from  dismounting:,  as  I  discovered  the  sinsiular 
contrivance  by  which  the  drivers  lock  the  carriage  in  the  de- 
scent. The  rider  of  the  spare  horse  had  uncoiled  the  lasso  at 
his  saddle-boWj  and  fastening  it  around  the  axle  of  the  birlocha, 
it  was  his  duty,  and  that  of  the  horse,  to  hold  back  at  steep  de- 
scents and  sudden  turns.  Once  at  the  foot,  however,  we  were 
safe,  and  had  a  rapid  transit  over  a  beautiful  and  level  road, 
through  a  highly  cultivated  champaign  country,  until  our  arrival 
at  Santiago. 

Approaching  in  this  direction,  the  capital  of  Chili  presents  any- 
thing but  an  imposing  appearance,  as  it  is  screened  by  numerous 
trees,  and  the  mean  mud-dwellings  which  are  characteristic  of 
this  suburb  ;  but,  as  we  advanced,  we  found  the  architecture 
gradually  improving,  until  finally  we  stopped  before  a  large  and 
handsome  building,  which  the  announcement  of  our  drivers,  and 
that  of  the  sign  upon  the  corner,  convinced  us  was  the  present 
terminus  of  our  journey — the  Hotel  Ingles,"  or  English  Hotel. 
Its  appellation  and  frequent  advertisements,  which  we  had  seen 
in  our  vernacular,  had  induced  us  to  expect  English  proprietors, 
English  style  and  servants  ;  but  in  all  this  we  were  destined  to 
be  disappointed,  as  we  ourselves  spoke  all  the  English  which 
was  spoken  in  the  house.  All  the  internal  arrangements  were 
essentially  French,  as  was  the  cooking  and  style  of  service  ;  and 
why  it  was  called  the  English  Hotel  I  was  never  enabled  to  learn, 
unless  it  was  in  a  spirit  of  contradiction,  because  there  was 
nothing  English  about  it.  As  the  edifice,  however,  was  one  of 
the  finest  in  the  city,  the  rooms  unexceptionable,  the  table  well 
supplied,  the  society  select,  and  finding  a  strong  disposition  on 
the  part  of  our  host  to  make  us  comfortable,  we  contented  our- 
selves without  being  too  particular  in  our  inquiries  as  to  the  origin 


SANTIAGO. 


51 


of  the  name.  The  dining  hour  was  three,  that  for  breakfast  be- 
tween nine  and  twelve,  and  tea  between  certain  hours  during  the 
evening,  the  limits  of  which  I  never  defined  during  my  stay. 
Altogether  the  English  Hotel  was  so  far  unexceptionable  that  I 
should  establish  myself  there,  should  I  ever  return,  in  preference 
to  risking  a  new  hotel  of  which  I  had  no  knowledge.  After  din- 
ner we  set  out  to  visit  some  of  the  lions  of  the  city.  The  famous 
Alemeda  or  Caftada,*  as  it  is  termed,  certainly  merits  its 
celebrity.  Its  whole  extent  I  should  judge  to  be  more  than  a 
mile  immediately  through  the  heart  of  the  city.  The  width  of 
the  principal  promenade  is  about  forty  yards,  enclosed  by  stately 
poplars,  planted  on  a  straight  line  with  mathematical  precision. 
Outside  this,  the  principal  avenue,  there  are  two  others  narrower 
than  the  first,  and  like  it,  enclosed  by  poplars,  while  outside  of 
all,  on  either  side  of  the  Alemeda,  runs  a  rapid  stream,  lacking 
purity  and  clearness  only  to  be  beautiful,  and  which,  as  it  is  but 
a  short  distance  from  its  snowy  origin  in  the  mountains,  com- 
bined with  the  shade,  renders  the  air  cool  and  refreshing.  In  the 
main  avenue  seats  of  masonry  are  placed  at  equal  distances  for 
the  benefit  of  the  fashionable  eveninor  louno^ers  of  Santiaoro. 
When  the  picturesque  Alemeda  is  crowded  by  the  beauty  and 
fashion  of  not  only  Santiago  but  Chili,  I  can  scarcely  imagine  a 
more  pleasant  promenade  ;  but  such,  unfortunately,  was  not  the 
case  upon  the  occasion  of  our  visit,  as  in  this  capital,  like  many 
others,  it  is  not  thought  fashionable  to  remain  in  town  during 
summer,  and  those  who  can  afford  it  repair  to  the  coast  for 
sea-bathing,  or  to  their  estates  in  the  country ;  and  it  is  said  that 
those  who  cannot  afibrd  the  former,  and  do  not  possess  the  latter, 
shut  up  their  houses,  and  feign  the  enjoyment  of  a  luxury  be- 
yond their  means  or  inclinations.  As  such  innocent  deceptions 
are  practised  elsewhere,  it  would  not  be  at  all  surprising  that 
they  should  be  practised  in  Santiago  ;  and  that  they  are,  I  was 
assured  by  several  respectable  natives,  whose  official  position  re- 

*  Canada  literally  signifies  a  glen,  and  this  appellation  is  by  no  means 
inappropriate,  although  situated  near  the  heart  of  a  large  capital. 


§2  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


tained  tbem  in  the  city.  There  was  certainly  a  great  dearth  of 
female  society  visible  in  the  capital ;  and  if  1  have  not  described 
the  fair  Chilians  the  reader  must  attribute  it  to  this  cause,  that  I 
have  seen  few  to  describe.  The  occasional  stragglers  we  met 
appeared,  like  ourselves,  strangers  who  had  come  to  the  famous 
Alemeda  only  from  motives  of  curiosity. 


CHAPTER  V. 


SANTIAGO. 

We  rose  early  in  the  morning  of  the  26th,  and  with  the  zea]^ 
of  new  arrivals,  set  out  to  visit  Santa  Luzia,  a  fort  situated  on  a 
rocky  eminence,  in  the  centre  of  the  capital,  from  the  battlements 
of  which  we  anticipated  a  fine  view  of  the  city  and  its  environs. 

We  had  not  been  misinformed,  and  were  not  disappointed,  as 
the  whole  city  of  Santiago  was  laid  out  like  a  map  before  our 
eyes. 

Its  tiled  houses  contrasting  with  the  foliage  of  the  numerous 
gardens,  its  numerous  spires,  and  continued  line  of  green,  which 
marked  the  position  of  the  Alemeda  and  the  Taja  Mar,  was  in 
itvSelf  a  beautiful  picture  ;  while  the  ornamental  cottages,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  approached  by  long  avenues  of  poplars, 
surrounded  by  grassy  lawns,  and  embowered  in  the  richest  foliage, 
presented  a  scene  of  suburban  beauty  which  I  have  seldom  seen 
equalled,  and  never  surpassed. 

But  that  which  most  pleased  me,  was  the  beauty  of  the  sur- 
rounding fertile  and  highly  cultivated  plain,  of  which  we  had  a 
most  advantageous  view  from  this  point.  Such  views  reminded 
me  of  the  more  cultivated  portions  of  my  own  country,  and 
recalled  to  my  mind  a  period,  before  my  wanderings  over  the 
ocean  had  commenced,  when  I  lived  quietly,  and  in  seclusion, 
upon  a  farm,  far  from  the  stir  and  bustle  of  the  world,  and  of  the 
highly  wrought  though  beautiful  descriptions  of  rural  life  in  the 
English  classics,  which  then  entranced  my  youthful  imagination 


54  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


and  left  upon  my  memory  an  impression  as  indelible  as  it  was 
pleasing. 

Such  scenes  of  fertility  and  careful  cultivation  are  rare  in 
South  America,  and  are,  indeed,  seldom  met  with  out  of  Europe  ; 
and  it  is  on  account  of  this,  the  least  unpretending  feature  of  a 
landscape,  that  I  prefer  Chili,  and  Chilian  scenery,  to  that  of  any 
country  in  which  I  have  sojourned,  while  absent  from  my  own. 

As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  two  directions,  extended  a 
level  plain,  every  portion  of  which  was  in  the  highest  state  of 
cultivation.  Here  was  a  farm-house,  peering  from  among  the 
ornamental  trees  by  which  it  was  surrounded,  and  with  a  long 
avenue  of  poplars,  by  which  its  approach  was  marked  ;  there,  was 
an  extensive  meadow,  covered  by  lowing  herds,  and  contrasting 
its  bright  green  with  the  light  yellow  of  the  fields,  where  the 
husbandman  was  collecting  and  storing  his  ripened  grain.  The 
whole  valley  was  carefully  and  skilfully  irrigated,  and  impressed 
upon  our  minds  the  ideas  of  industry,  wealth,  and  happiness. 
Nor  was  the  grand  and  sublime  wanting  in  the  landscape  ;  and 
we  had  thus  at  our  feet,  a  large  and  prosperous  city  ;  near  us, 
suburban  luxury  and  taste  ;  and  in  all  directions  around  us,  a 
beautiful  champaign  country,  whose  quiet  and  repose  could  not 
but  delight  the  mind  at  peace  with  itself,  with  nature,  and  man- 
kind ;  while  above  all,  at  the  distance  of  some  fifteen  miles, 
frowned  the  colossal  Cordillera,  its  snowy  summits  glistening  in 
the  rays  of  the  same  sun  which  ripened  the  fruits  of  the  earth  in 
all  directions. 

The  fort,  which  still  exists  on  Santa  Luzia,  is  neither  remark- 
able for  extent,  nor  for  perfection  in  military  architecture.  It 
consists  solely  of  a  flagged  "  terreplein,"  and  a  parapet,  with  its 
battery  of  seven  light  guns  "  en  barbette." 

Its  position  would  make  it  formidable  only  to  the  city;  and 
although  we  were  informed  that  it  had  been  erected  in  former 
times,  as  a  defence  against  the  Indians,  it  has  doubtless  been  kept 
in  repair  for  the  purpose  of  overawing  the  capital,  which  could 
be  advantageously  battered  by  its  artillery.    The  guns  were  old, 


SANTIAGO. 


55 


and  mounted  on  superannuated  carriages,  and  its  garrison 
appeared  to  consist  of  the  rapidly  increasing  family  of  the  man 
who  had  it  in  charge. ' 

One  thing,  however,  in  this  fort,  struck  us  as  new  and  peculiar, 
which  was  an  arrangement,  by  which  the  rays  of  the  sun  at  raid- 
day,  converged  by  a  convex  lens  placed  in  a  box,  communicating 
with  a  tube  containing  gunpowder,  fired  a  gun  to  inform  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  castle  of  the  hour  of  noon. 

The  gun  being  loaded  immediately  after  its  discharge,  requires 
no  further  care  until  discharged  again,  as  the  powder  in  the  train 
and  priming  is  so  secured  as  not  to  deteriorate  from  the  effects 
of  the  weather. 

And  thus,  every  day  that  the  sun  shines  with  sufficient  power 
at  the  meridian  passage,  the  apparent  noon  is  loudly  proclaimed 
to  the  good  citizens,  the  greater  number  of  whom,  I  doubt  not, 
consider  its  announcement  infallible,  although  the  knowing  ones 
are  aware  that  the  sun,  notwithstanding  Virgil's  first  Georgic, 

"  Above  the  rest,  the  sun  who  never  lies,'^ 

can  be  right  but  twice  during  the  year."^ 

We  availed  ourselves  of  the  same  morning  to  visit  some  of  the 
churches,  which  are  always  open  at  an  early  hour,  but  found  few 
remarkable  for  the  architectural  taste  displayed  in  their  con- 
struction, though  rich  in  their  internal  decorations,  much  gold 
and  silver  being  lavished  on  their  altar-pieces,  most  of  which  are 
elaborately  carved  and  gilded. f 

As  a  branch  of  our  National  Observatory  has  been  recently  established 
in  Santiago,  the  announcements  of  the  gun  will  lose  their  reputed  infallibility. 
If,  however,  the  Observatory  should  fail  in  arousing  the  people  to  the  dis- 
tinction between  apparent  and  mean  time,  the  gun  and  the  chronometer,  an 
invasion  of  Yankee  clockmakers  will  speedily  consummate  the  work.  No 
point  is  so  remote  in  these  days  of  progress,  as  to  afford  a  refuge  for  the 
pleasing  delusion  of  ignorance. 

t  The  Catholic  religion  certainly  produces  one  practical  advantage  to  the 
devout,  by  encouraging  early  rising ;  the  Mahometanj  also,  when  the  Muezzim 


56  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


The  Cathedral,  which  forms  one  side  of  the  G-rand  Plaza,  is, 
however,  an  exception  to  the  first  remark,  as  its  architecture, 
though  massive  and  heavy,  is  imposing,  and  in  my  opinion,  well 
adapted  for  the  purpose  intended.  The  material  of  which  it  is 
composed  is  porphyry,  and  its  internal  architecture  is  as  fine  as 
anything  I  have  seen. 

Though  enormous  in  extent,  compared  with  the  churches  of 
our  country,  it  is  not  so  large  as  the  Cathedral  in  Lima,  which, 
however,  it  excels  in  solidity  and  chasteness  of  style.  The  name 
of  the  architect  of  this  very  creditable  work,  I  did  not  learn, 
hut  the  plan  of  the  frontispiece  was  made  by  an  Italian  engineer, 
Joaquin  de  las  Tuescas,  who  planned  and  constructed  the  Mint, 
and  planned  most  of  the  architectural  ornaments  of  the  capital. 

Having  returned  from  our  visit  to  Santa  Luzia  and  the 
churches,  we  took  a  late  breakfast,  after  which  we  called  upon  the 
Charge  des  Affaires  of  the  United  States,  to  whose  politeness  and 
hospitality,  and  that  of  his  amiable  and  accomplished  lady  (a  fair 
Chilian),  we  were  much  indebted  during  our  stay. 

After  this  first  zealous  effort  at  sight-seeing,  we  rested  from  our 
labours,  and  I  must  confess  that  afterwards,  in  the  enjoyment  of 
this  pleasant  capital,  and  in  the  society  of  our  numerous  acquain- 
tance, there  was  so  little  method  in  our  investigations,  that  they 
will  not  bear  to  be  submitted  to  the  severe  ordeal  of  journalism  ; 
and  I  will,  for  this  reason,  compress  the  information  we  obtained 
into  this  and  the  following  chapters,  without  reference  to  date,  or 
to  the  mode  and  manner  in  which  it  was  obtained. 

Santiago  has  been  for  a  long  time,  and  I  believe  justly, 
esteemed  as  the  most  beautiful  South  American  capital — a  dis- 
tinction which  it  owes  in  a  high  degree  to  its  position,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  surrounding  country.    It  is  regularly  laid  out,  and 

calls  the  faithful  to  prayers  at  sunrise,  with  the  words,  "  God  is  great,''  "  God 
is  great''  "  Come  to  prayers,"  "  Prayer  is  better  than  sleep."  The  pow- 
erful influence  of  the  Prophet  over  his  followers  is  most  fully  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  he  convinced  them  of  the  truth  of  this  last  dogma,  which  would 
prove  a  shibboleth  to  most  drowsy  and  comfort-loving  Christians. 


SANTIAGO. 


57 


the  streets  suiG&ciently  wide  for  comfort  and  convenience,  and  is 
well  paved  with  small  rounded  stones  or  pebbles.  The  houses, 
which  are  for  the  most  part  of  adobe,  or  large  sun-dried  bricks,  so 
much  used  in  South  America,  seldom  exceed  one  story  in  height, 
which  ensures  greater  safety  during  the  frequent  earthquakes. 
The  roofs  are  tiled,  while  the  interior  arrangement  is  that  derived 
by  the  Spaniards  from  the  Moors,  an  open  and  ornamental  court- 
yard in  the  centre,  enclosed  by  the  various  apartments.  The 
entrance  to  this  court,  in  the  houses  of  the  wealthy,  is  by  a 
"porte  cochere,"  while  that  to  the  humbler  sort  is  through  the 
"  sala,"  or  principal  apartment.  The  Mint,  which  was  erected 
in  1787,  during  the  administration  of  Don  Ambrosio  de  Benavides, 
occupies  a  whole  square,  and  is  deservedly  esteemed  the  architec- 
tural ornament  of  the  capital.  Its  machinery — according  to  the 
report  of  a  commission  appointed  by  the  Minister  of  Finance,  in 
1848,  to  examine  critically  into  its  condition — is  antique  and 
inefficient. 

In  relation  to  this  subject,  the  commissioners  state  that  the 
establishment  has  three  fly-presses,  antique  in  style,  and  imperfect 
from  continued  use — defective  in  power,  and  slow  in  their  opera- 
tion. For  the  coining  of  ounces  and  dollars,  six  men  are  required 
to  manage  each  of  them,  while  two  are  sufficient  to  coin  pesetas 
(20  cent  pieces).  Each  press  will  coin  from  21  to  24  pesetas  in 
a  minute,  and  only  15  or  16  ounces  in  the  same  interval.  They 
state  further,  that  the  improved  French  press,  which  had  been 
provided  by  the  government,  was  utterly  useless,  for  want  of  a 
good  mechanic  to  repair  it.  New  furnaces,  and  presses  of  a  simple 
construction,  are  recommended  by  the  commission,  who  consider 
the  employment  of  a  working  steam  engine,  and  the  most 
improved  press,  as  too  expensive,  and  too  liable  to  disarrangement, 
for  the  existing  state  of  the  finances,  and  the  mechanic  arts  in  the 
country.  The  danger  of  a  large  steam  engine  is  also  considered 
by  the  commission  objectionable,  unless  some  skilful  foreign 
mechanic  is  employed  to  take  charge  of  it,  especially  as  the 
government  offices  and  archives  are  in  the  same  edifice. 


58  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


A  re-organization  of  the  administrative  department,  and  the 
adoption  of  the  system  in  force  in  the  Mint  in  Philadelphia,  is 
also  advised. 

The  other  public  buildings  of  most  importance  are  the 
Presidential  Palace,  formerly  occupied  by  the  Royal  Governors, 
the  Cabildo,  and  the  ]\Iuseum,  all  of  which  are  respectable,  but 
not  remarkable  for  size  or  architecture. 

The  river  Maypocho,  vrhich  traverses  the  confines  of  the  city, 
is,  properly  speaking,  a  mountain  torrent,  inconsiderable  as  a 
river,  except  during  the  freshets.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  the 
quantity  of  water  in  its  bed  would  warrant  the  appellation  of  a 
large  mill-stream,  which  indeed  it  is,  supplying  the  motive  power 
to  several  fine  flour-mills,  some  of  which  are  owned  by  Ameri- 
cans, in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Santiago.  It  is  traversed  by 
two  bridges — one  quite  modern,  of  wood,  and  the  other  of  stone — 
constructed  by  D.Luis  Manuel  Lanartu,  during  the  administration 
of  Don  Augustin  Jaraque,  between  the  years  1780  and  '87. 

In  connection  with  the  ^Maypocho  is  found  the  Taja  Mar,  or 
break-water,  one  of  the  most  extensive  constructions  of  the 
capital,  which  was  raised  by  O'Higgins,  in  about  1790,  to  prevent 
the  overflow  of  the  river,  which  a  few  years  before  had  inundated, 
and  destroyed  a  large  portion  of  the  northern  part  of  the  city. 
Its  use  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  levees  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  but  it  is  handsomely  constructed  of  stone  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  form  a  fine  promenade,  with  an  esplanade  in  front, 
planted  with  poplars.  The  Museum,  though  an  unpretending 
edifice,  contains  a  fine  collection  of  all  branches  of  Natural 
History,  and  especially  a  good  cabinet  of  minerals.  Some 
monstrosities,  though  certainly  curious,  mijht  be  transferred  to 
an  anatomical  collection  without  detriment  to  the  Museum,  which 
being  open  to  the  public,  is  doubtless  visited  by  many  females  and 
young  persons,  whose  sensibilities  ought  not  to  be  shocked  by  the 
sight  of  such  objects. 

The  wall  of  the  principal  saloon  is  ornamented  by  the  shield 
containing  the  single  star  of  the  Republic,  supported  by  a  stuffed 


SANTIAGO. 


59 


condor  on  one  side,  and  a  quadruped  on  the  other,  in  imitation  of 
the  national  coat  of  arms.  The  latter,  which  is  about  the  size 
of  a  deer,  is  believed  to  be  extinct,  and  some  naturalists  have 
even  considered  it  fabulous.  I  mention  the  fact  of  the  existence 
of  this  specimen,  to  convince  the  incredulous,  and  to  point  out 
the  opportunity  for  an  investigation. 

The  theatre,  which  I  attended  regularly  during  my  stay  ,  is 
small,  somewhat  out  of  repair,  and  does  not  compare  favourably 
with  that  of  Valparaiso,  where  the  influx  of  strangers  affords 
means  of  supporting  a  more  extensive  establishment.  The  per- 
formance, however,  was  always  respectable,  and  the  ballet 
corps"  remarkably  good,  as  almost  invariably  occurs  where  there 
is  a  Spanish  audience  and  Spanish  performers.  I  witnessed  the 
representation  of  a  national  drama  founded  upon  the  Chilian 
campaign  in  Peru,  in  1839,  and  terminating  with  the  decisive 
battle  of  Yungai. 

The  theatre  beins:  crowded  to  excess,  prevented  my  having  an 
opportunity  to  judge  of  the  merits  of  the  piece,  which,  to  say  the 
truth,  smelt  in  my  nostrils  somewhat  too  strong  of  gunpowder 
but  one,  and  I  believe  the  most  pleasing  feature  of  the  play,  did 
not  entirely  escape  me.  A  vivandiere,  finding  a  battalion 
of  her  countrymen  retreating  under  the  fire  of  the  batteries  of 
the  Peruvians,  seized  the  sword  of  a  dying  officer,  placed  herself 
at  its  head,  and  followed  by  the  troops,  whom  she  effsctually 
rallied,  carried  the  position.  This  circumstance  is  historical,  and 
the  heroine  of  the  play.  Sergeant  Candalaria,  who  has  rank,  and 
pay  or  pension  in  the  Chilian  army,  was  said  to  be  present  at  the 
performance. 

The  enthusiastic  reception  of  this  play  by  a  large  audience, 
displayed  the  patriotism  and  military  bias  of  the  people,  the 
existence  of  which  has  been  clearly  proved  in  the  history  of  the 
republic.  As  in  Valparaiso,  the  upper  tier  of  seats  was  occupied 
by  females,  an  advancement  in  the  refinements  of  civilization 
which  I  have  not  elsewhere  observed  in  South  America,  and 


bu  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


which  brings  Chili  up  to  our  own  practical  standard  of  the  pro- 
prieties of  life. 

Among  the  acquaintances  whom  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
make  during  our  stay,  was  a  captain  in  the  general  staff,  through 
whose  instrumentality  we  obtained  permission  to  visit  the  arsenal, 
which  has  been  established  in  the  artillery  barracks,  within  the 
city.  It  contained  about  fifty  thousand  stand  of  arms,  admirably 
kept,  and  tastefully  disposed.  In  artillery  alone,  they  were  some- 
what deficient ;  but  it  appears  from  the  report  of  the  minister  of 
war,  which  will  be  hereafter  discussed,  that  measures  have  been 
taken  to  supply  this  deficiency. 

In  hotels,  the  city  is  by  no  means  deficient,  as  it  has  two  of 
the  first  class,  which  are  sufficient  to  accommodate  the  travel- 
lers who  find  their  way  to  an  interior  city,  with  little  commerce — 
the  Hotel  Engles,  in  which  we  were  domiciled,  and  the  Hotel  dc 
Chili.  The  latter  is  also  a  great  resort  for  the  fashionable,  who 
at  certain  seasons  repair  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  eating  ices  made 
from  the  snow  which  is  amply  supplied  by  the  neighbouring  moun- 
tains. 

My  visit  being  made  near  midsummer,  the  fashionable  were 
generally  absent  from  the  city,  at  the  springs,  at  the  seaside,  and 
on  their  estates,  which  prevents  my  giving  a  description  of  the 
society  of  the  capital.  I  consoled  myself,  however,  for  this  de- 
privation, and  the  reader  may  safely  follow  my  example,  by  the 
reflection  of  Goldsmith  in  his  Chinese  letters,  "  That  the  wise 
are  polite  all  the  world  over."  Judging  from  my  previous  experi- 
ence, I  should  have  expected  to  meet  a  refined  and  agreeable 
people,  as  I  have  found  the  educated  classes  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  I  have  yet  visited.  As  far  as  general  morality  is  con- 
cerned, Santiago  is,  I  presume,  little  better  or  worse  than  other 
cities  of  its  class,  and  I  certainly  saw  nothing  which  would  war- 
rant the  severe  strictures  of  Sir  Francis  Head,  The  lower 
rooms"  (he  says,  speaking  of  women  of  a  certain  class)  of 
the  most  respectable  houses  are  let  to  them,  and  it  is  really 


SANTIAGO. 


61 


shocking  beyond  description,  to  see  them  sitting  at  their  doors, 
with  a  candle  in  the  back  part  of  the  room,  burning  before  sacred 
pictures  and  images."  That  such  persons  are  by  no  means  rare, 
is  true,  but  they  are  certainly  respectable,  considering  their 
position,  and  never  fall  so  low  as  those  of  England  and  the  United 
States.  In  fact  they  are  by  no  means  held  to  be  so  degraded  in 
Spanish  or  Portuguese  countries  generally,  as  in  some  others  ; 
and  a  woman,  who  through  want  or  circumstances  may  have  lost 
her  virtue,  does  not  become  utterly  abandoned,  and  still  retains  a 
certain  amount  of  self-respect  and  outward  respectability. 

While  this  class  of  people  exists,  which  they  have  done  through 
all  ages,  since  the  capture  of  Jericho  at  least,  it  is  questionable 
whether  the  course  pursued  towards  them  by  the  religious 
teachers,  and  by  the  public  at  large  in  Catholic  countries,  is  not 
preferable  to  that  of  our  own,  by  which,  to  discountenance  vice  of 
one  kind,  those  who  are  guilty  of  it  are  driven  to  every  to  her  crime 
in  the  calendar. 

The  markets  of  the  city  are  well  supplied,  and  held  in  open 
spaces,  where  each  vendor  erects  his  temporary  screen,  or  tent,  to 
protect  himself  and  articles  of  sale  from  the  sun.  The  beef  is  ex- 
cellent, as  are  also  the  garden  vegetables  ;  while  the  fruits  peculiar 
to  a  temperate  climate,  especially  the  strawberries,  are  justly 
celebrated. 

Horses  and  mules,  many  of  which  are  brought  from  the  exten- 
sive plains  in  the  Argentine  provinces,  are  cheap  and  abundant, 
the  usual  price  for  ordinary  animals  varying  from  seventeen  to 
twenty  dollars.  For  two  mules  which  I  purchased,  I  paid  fifty- 
four  dollars,  but  have  every  reason  to  believe  myself  cheated,  the 
vendor  having  fulfilled  the  letter  rather  than  the  spirit  of  the 
sacred  text,  "  I  was  a  stranger,"  &c.,  &c.  The  horses  in  Chili 
are  remarkably  well  broken,  and  when  mounted,  are  kept  under 
admirable  control  by  their  dexterous  riders,  who  perhaps  excel 
any  horsemen  in  South  America,  even  the  daring  guachos  of  the 
Buenos  Ayrian  plains,  who  pass  their  lives  on  horseback.  The 
distinguished  English  savan,  Darwin,  states  in  his  journal  of  a 
4 


62 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


naturalist,  that  among  other  feats  of  horsemanship,  he  saw  a 
Chilian  gallop  in  a  circle  so  small,  that  he  kept  his  fiuger  always 
on  a  post  in  the  centre  ;  and  then  suddenly  reining  up  his  horse, 
he  performed,  a  demivolte,  shifting  his  finger  at  the  same  time,  and 
continued  his  career  around  the  post  in  the  opposite  direction. 
This  identical  feat,  which  displays  most  clearly  the  training  of  the 
horse,  I  have  never  seen,  but  I  have  witnessed  others  so  remark- 
able, as  to  prepare  me  to  believe  almost  any  thing  which  may  be 
narrated  of  the  trained  Chilian  horse  and  his  fearless  rider.  As 
an  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  guasos  are  held  as  horse 
trainers  by  their  transmontane  neighbors  the  guachos,  I  may 
mention  that  horses  are  frequently  sent  to  Chili  froui  Mendosa  to 
be  broken,  and  Chilian  labourers  are  always  employed  for  this 
purpose,  when  it  is  possible  to  obtain  them,  even  by  the  guachos 
themselves. 

For  breaking  in  a  wild  horse  which  has  never  been  bitted,  the 
rougb  and  cruel  method  pursued  by  the  guacho  may  be  the  most 
effective  ;  but  for  his  perfect  training,  I  have  met  no  one  who  will 
compare  with  the  guaso.* 

The  police  of  the  capital,  horse  and  foot,  is  under  the  same  or- 
ganization as  that  of  Valparaiso,  and  appears  to  be  admirably 
regulated.  I  never  saw  an  instance  of  auy  disorder  in  the  street, 
nor  any  rudeness  on  the  part  of  the  police,  but  on  the  contrary 
found  them  obliging  and  polite,  especially  so  to  strangers. 

With  the  exception  of  the  theatre,  already  alluded  to,  there  ap- 
pear to  be  few  public  amusements.  That  which  seems  to  fiud 
most  favor  with  the  common  people  is  dancing.  With  my  two 
companions,  and  a  Chilian  officer,  I  attended  a  karana,  a  species  of 
fandango,  w'here  we  passed  an  agreeable  evening.    The  music 

*  In  the  narrative  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  the  country 
people  of  Chili  are  called  gnachov.  instead  of  guasos.  This  is  an  error.  I 
am  not  aware  of  the  derivation  of  either  w^ord,  but  in  use  they  are  kept  per- 
fectly distinct,  as  appellations  of  very  different  classes  of  people.  The  guacho 
ot  the  plains  is  a  herdsman,  holding  all  manual  labour  as  beneath  him ; 
while  the  Chilian  guaso  is  a  peasant  of  any  kind,  and  may  b  ea  farm 
labourer,  or  a  miner,  as  well  as  a  herdsman. 


SANTIAGO. 


63 


was  a  harp  and  a  couple  of  guitars,  the  danciag*  good,  and  the 
dances  characteristic,  and  unlike  the  unmeaning  quadrilles,  &c., 
&c.,  which  distinguish  the  terpsichorean  art  in  more  highly  re- 
fined communities.  Although  the  party,  especially  the  females, 
were  by  no  means  the  most  respectable,  there  was  no  indecorum  ; 
while  to  us,  as  strangers,  every  attention  and  civility  was  shown 
by  all  present. 

During  our  stay  I  made  an  excursion  through  the  suburb  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  in  company  with  one  of  the  Euro- 
pean Consuls  from  Valparaiso,  and  found  that  its  beauty,  when 
nearly  approached,  exceeded  our  anticipations,  formed  from  the 
glimpse  which  we  obtained  from  Santa  Luzia.  After  passing  the 
river  we  rode  about  two  miles  through  a  beautiful  avenue  of  pop- 
lars, which  were  planted  so  closely  as  to  form  a  complete  hedge, 
and  passed  numberless  smaller  avenues  leading  to  cottages, 
which  were  generally  some  distance  from  the  main  road,  and  in 
the  centre  of  ornamental  grounds. 

These  cottages  were  generally  of  frame,  painted  white,  and  fre- 
quently so  embowered  in  the  foliage  of  the  surrounding  trees  as  to 
be  scarce  visible  from  the  road.  In  the  case  of  one,  pertaining  to 
a  wealthy  and  hospitable  countryman,  which  I  visited,  I  observed 
that  the  kitchen  and  outhouses  were  separated  from  the  main 
building,  and  so  well  concealed  by  shrubbery  as  to  pass  unob- 
served, until  attention  was  especially  called  to  them — an  arrange- 
ment which  found  much  favour  in  my  eyes,  as  it  doubtless  will  in 
all  those  who  have,  in  the  course  of  dining  out  in  suburban  cot- 
tages, had  their  appetites  destroyed  by  the  fumes  of  a  din- 
ner, long  before  it  was  brought  upon  the  table.  After  our 
return  from  this  excursion,  I  concluded  that  though  the  vicinity 
of  Rio  de  J aneiro  was  unequalled  in  its  combination  of  the  sub- 
lime and  beautiful,  there  was  a  quiet  and  unpretending  beauty 
in  these  suburbs,  which  addressed  itself  more  directly  to  the 
heart ;  and  that  love  in  a  cottage, ^'''^  so  much  lauded"  by  poets, 
and  so  much  ridiculed  by  the  critics,  could  not  but  be  desirable,  if 
that  cottage  were  one  of  those  which  I  saw  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Santiago. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


EARLY    HISTORY    OF  CHILI. 

Chili  was  discovered  by  adventurers  from  Peru,  where  the 
Spaniards  first  obtained  intelligence  of  the  existence  of  the  rich  and 
fertile  country  of  that  name,  lying  to  the  south,  a  portion  of 
which,  it  would  appear,  had  formerly  been  conquered  by  the 
armies  of  the  Incas,  and  with  which  a  partial  communication  had 
been  kept  up,  by  means  of  the  great  military  road  extending 
southerly  from  Cuzco. 

The  history  of  the  Peruvian  conquest  is  foreign  to  the  subject 
under  consideration,  as  are  also  the  causes  which  led  to  the 
Expedition  of  Almagro.  Both  have  been  placed  within  the  reach 
of  the  English  reader,  in  Mr.  Prescott's  elaborate  and  classical 
''Conquest  of  Peru."  It  will  be  therefore  sufficient  to  remark, 
that  after  the  supreme  command  had  been  bestowed  upon 
Francesco  Pizarro,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  his  rival  and 
the  malcontents  composing  his  party,  Almagro  consented  to  leave 
Peru,  and  seek  elsewhere,  with  a  small  force,  a  more  brilliant 
fortune  in  new  conquests. 

In  the  year  1535,  he  took  his  departure  for  the  south,  and 
entering  Chili  by  one  of  the  passes  in  the  Cordillera,  visited  the 
present  sites  of  Coquimbo  and  Santiago, — and  even  penetrated  as 
far  south  as  Rancagua.  Finding  no  metallic  treasure,  of  which  he 
was  in  search,  and  tired  of  battling  with  the  Indians,  who  were 
not  only- inveterate  in  their  hostility,  but  warlike  and  formidable, 
he  returned  to  Peru,  hoping  to  avail  himself  of  the  growing  dis- 


EARLY   HISTORY   OF  CHILI. 


65 


satisfaction  in  that  country,  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
government,  by  the  overthrow  of  his  old  companion  in  arms,  and 
leader  in  the  conquest. 

The  Excursion  of  Almagro  was  therefore  no  more  than  a 
Military  Exploration  of  a  limited  portion  of  the  country. 

The  next  attempt  was  more  successful,  as  Pizarro,  after  the 
fortunate  termination  in  1539,  of  civil  strife,  between  his  faction 
and  that  of  Almagro,  dispatched  a  second  army  to  Chili,  under 
the  command  of  his  Maestro  de  Campo,  Pedro  Valdivia — a  brave 
and  distinguished  officer,  who  had  learned  the  art  of  war  in  Italy, 
under  Gonzalvo  de  Cordova,  the  Great  Captain. 

The  colony  of  Yaldivia  consisted  of  two  hundred  Spaniards,  a 
large  number  of  Peruvian  Indians,  some  friars,  and  women, 
together  with  domesticated  animals,  intended  to  stock  the  new 
conquest. 

Entering  Chili,  through  the  pass  of  Uspallata  in  the  Cordillera, 
Valdivia  followed  nearly  the  same  route  as  that  pursued  five  years 
before  by  Almagro ;  but  finding  a  strong  and  central  place  of 
re-union  necessary  to  defend  his  new  colony,  he  founded,  in  1641, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Maypocho,  the  city  of  Santiago,  which  has 
existed,  as  the  capital  of  Chili,  up  to  the  present  time. 

Hostilities  continued  between  the  Indians  and  infant  settle- 
ment ;  and  in  the  following  year,  the  colonists,  disappointed  in 
not  obtaining  the  gold  which  they  coveted,  fomented  a  mutiny, 
intending  to  murder  their  leader,  and  return  to  Peru. 

Yaldivia,  having  discovered  the  designs  of  the  mutineers, 
intended  at  first  to  punish  the  attempt  most  condignly ;  but  hav- 
ing established  a  civil  government,  by  which  he  caused  himself 
to  be  proclaimed  governor,  he  contented  himself  with  this 
acknowledgment  of  his  power,  and  suppressed  the  mutiny,  without" 
resorting  to  capital  punishment.  With  the  view,  however,  to  put 
his  people  in  a  better  humour  with  their  new  acquisition,  he  had 
the  mountain  of  Quillota  examined  for  a  gold  mine,  said  to  exist 
in  the  neighbourhood  ;  which  being  discovered,  the  Spaniards  soon 
forgot,  while  extracting  its  products,  their  former  dangers,  mis- 


66 


CHILI  AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


fortunes,  and  grievances.  In  1544,  he  communicated  the  state 
of  the  country  to  Yaca  de  Cestro,  who  (Pizarro  the  Conqueror 
being  dead)  now  governed  Peru,  and  requested  reinforcements, 
which  being  sent  him,  he  explored  the  coast  as  far  south  as  the 
Straits  of  Magellan,  in  search  of  good  sea-ports.  About  the  same 
time,  he  founded  the  city  of  Coquimbo,in  order  to  possess  a  port 
through  which  he  could  keep  up  his  communications  with  Peru. 
His  next  undertaking,  however,  terminated  unfortunately,  as, 
encouraged  by  his  former  successful  explorations,  and  combats 
with  the  Mapochinos  and  Promaucaes — two  Indian  tribes  in  the 
vicinity  of  Santiago — he  endeavoured  to  explore  the  country  by 
land  ;  but  being  attacked  by  the  savages,  suffered  such  severe 
losses,  that  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  Santiago. 

In  1547,  Yaldivia  visited  Peru,  where  having  attached  himself 
in  the  civil  wars,  then  raging  between  the  two  parties  of  the 
President  Gasca  and  Gonzalo  Pizarro,  to  the  former,  who  proved 
successful,  he  was  established  in  his  authority  as  governor  of 
Chili,  and  returned  with  reinforcements  of  men  and  warlike 
resources,  to  pursue  his  conquest.  After  the  return  of  the 
Governor  from  Peru,  he  made  consignments  of  lands  to  his  com- 
panions in  arms  and  the  colonists,  assigning,  also,  conquered 
Indians  for  their  cultivation.  In  1550,  he  again  undertook  an 
expedition  to  the  south,  during  which  he  founded  Conception — 
a  city  which  was  destined  to  be  destroyed  and  rebuilt  many 
times,  as  fortune  favoured  the  Spaniards  or  their  inveterate  Indian 
enemies.  It  was  during  this  campaign,  and  in  the  same  year,  that 
the  Spaniards  first  met  the  Araucanians,  the  most  untamable  of 
all  the  Indian  tribes  of  either  America. 

The  information  they  had  previously  obtained  relative  to  the 
Spaniards,  was,  for  the  barbarians,  casus  belli,"  and  they 
attacked  them  with  a  force  of  about  4000  warriors- ;  and  showing 
no  unmanly  fear  of  the  terrible  and  novel  weapons  wielded  by 
their  adversaries,  fought  with  such  fury,  that  the  Spaniards, 
though  ultimately  successful,  were  so  much  discouraged,  that  they 
felt  little  inclined  to  follow,  when  they  had  retreated  after  the 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHILI. 


67 


deatli  of  tbeir  intrepid  chief.  Thus  commenced  a  war  which 
lasted  ninety  years,  almost  without  an  interval  of  peace  ;  was 
re-commenced  by  one  party  or  the  other,  at  various  times,  even 
since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic — and  yet  the  Arauca- 
nians  remain  unconquered.  Valdivia,  accustomed  to  a  feeble 
resistance  from  the  effeminate  Peruvians,  was  surprised  by  the 
valour  and  constancy  of  this  new  enemy,  and  saw  the  necessity 
for  a  fortification  to  defend  his  infant  colony  ;  and  scarcely  was  it 
completed,  when  the  Araucanians,  under  a  new  chief,  Lincoyan, 
attacked  him  behind  his  walls,  and  at  the  muzzles  of  his  artillery. 
In  this  attack  the  Indians  were  beaten,  a  fact  which  the  credulous 
Spaniards  attributed  to  the  exertions  of  the  Apostle  Santiago, 
whom  they  saw,  mounted  on  a  white  horse,  brandishing  his  sword, 
and  pursuing  the  enemy.  From  1550  to  1553,  Yaldivia  was 
occupied  in  founding  cities,  consolidating  his  conquests^  e^icour- 
aging  the  arts  and  agriculture,  and  in  examinations  of  the  coasts 
and  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  hoping  to  establish  by  this  route  a 
more  direct  communication  with  Europe.^' 

In  the  same  year,  Colocolo,  an  aged  chief  of  the  Araucanians, 
actuated  by  the  same  motives  which  inspired  Tecumseh  in  our 
own  country,  passed  from  tribe  to  tribe  among  his  nation  and 
their  allies,  urging  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  necessity  of  holding  a  grand  council,  for  the  election  of 
a  chief  who  might  control  the  movements  and  direct  the  hostili- 
ties of  the  combined  forces. 

A  grand  and  solemn  assemblage  finally  met  on  a  vast  plain  in 
the  Araucanian  territory,  when,  after  the  banquet  which  in  all 
parts  of  America  precedes  a  council  among  the  aborigines,  the 
balloting  commenced,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  Caupolican — 
immortalized  by  Ercilla,  in  his  Araucano — as  their  generalissimo. 

Their  first  attack  was  directed  against  the  city  of  Arauco, 
which  the  Spaniards  were  obliged  to  abandon,  those  who  escaped 

=^  The  first  route  to  the  Pacific  was  by  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  to  which 
we  have  returned  after  a  lapse  of  three  centuries.^ 


68 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


beiog  indebted  to  the  speed  of  their  horses.  This  place  was 
utterly  destroyed  by  the  savages. 

Yaldivia,  notwithstanding  the  openly  expressed  fears  of  his 
best  officers,  again  took  the  field  against  the  Araucanians,  who 
cut  his  vanguard  utterly  to  pieces,  not  leaving  a  single  man  alive  : 
a  disaster  which  still  further  intimidated  the  haughty  and  warlike 
invaders,  who  had,  at  length,  after  a  long  career  of  conquest, 
found  their  masters  in  this  remote  corner  of  the  continent. 
Various  skirmishes  preceded  the  battle  of  Arauco,  the  most  firmly 
contested  and  most  disastrous  to  the  Spaniards  which  had  yet  been 
fought  in  South  America.  The  slaughter  was  immense  on  both 
sides,  and  at  one  time,  during  the  day,  victory  seemed  to  have 
declared  in  favour  of  the  brave  and  desperate  Spaniards,  and  the 
Promaucaes,  their  Indian  allies  ;  when  the  tide  of  battle  was  turned 
by  the  conduct  of  Lautaro,  an  Araucanian,  page  of  Yaldivia,  who, 
seeing  his  countrymen  routed,  deserted  his  master,  and  throwing 
oif  his  European  costume,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
savages,  whom  he  encouraged,  by  his  eloquence  and  example,  to 
make  another  attempt,  in  which  they  were  entirely  successful. 
The  youth  was  at  this  time  about  sixteen  years  old,  and  having 
been  taken  prisoner,  had  been  educated  by  Yaldivia,  to  whom  he 
appeared  sincerely  attached,  and  had  never  shown  any  disposition 
to  rejoin  his  countrymen,  until  the  moment  that  ho  saw  them 
defeated. 

The  battle  of  Arauco  was  fought  on  the  3rd  of  December,  1553, 
and  of  the  whole  force  of  Spaniards  and  their  allies,  there  escaped 
only  two  Indians,  who  succeeded  in  concealing  themselves  in  the 
bushes.  The  general  himself  fell  alive  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  from  whom  he  asked  his  life,  offering  to  abandon  the 
whole  country  if  it  was  conceded.  Lautaro,  who,  though  his 
patriotism  had  induced  him  to  abandon  his  master,  was  by  no 
means  unmindful  of  past  favours ;  and  perhaps  aware  of  the 
importance  of  preserving  so  important  a  hostage,  used  all  the 
influence  which  his  signal  services  on  that  day  had  given  him 
among  his  countrymen,  to  save  Yaldivia.     But  while  the  subject 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHILI. 


69 


was  yet  under  discussion,  an  aged  savage,  with  that  reckless  disre- 
gard for  the  chief  of  his  own  election,  which  not  unfrequently 
characterizes  men  in  civilized  communities,  dispatched  the  unfor- 
tunate Spaniard  with  a  single  blow  of  his  mace. 

Thus  died  Pedro  Valdivia,  the  disciple  of  the  Great  Captain, 
the  companion  of  Pizarro,  and  the  founder  of  the  colony  of  Chili. 
Although  his  discoveries  and  conquests  do  not  wear  the  same 
brilliant  exterior  as  those  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  this  does  not 
detract  from  the  credit  to  which  his  brilliant  services  and 
achievements  entitle  him. 

The  least  known  and  most  unpretending  among  the  Spanish 
conquerors,  Valdivia  was  perhaps  the  best  soldier,  the  most  enter- 
prising explorer,  and  the  chief  whose  character  is  stained  with 
the  fewest  crimes  as  Chili,  apparently  th^  least  important  among 
the  numerous  acquisitions  of  Spain,  has,  in  the  course  of  time, 
become  the  best  cultivated,  best  governed,  and  most  flourishing 
of  all  the  Republics  which  owe  their  origin  to  that  peninsula. 

The  result  of  the  Battle  of  Arauco  was,  that  the  Spaniards 
were  obliged  to  abandon  their  southern  settlements,  and  flee  to 
their  fortified  cities  for  refuge  :  nor  were  they  even  there  safe, 
as  the  boy  Lautaro,  who  now  commanded  a  division  of  the  Arau- 
canian  army,  after  defeating  the  force  which  the  new  governor, 
Villagran,  opposed  to  him,  laid  siege  to  Conception,  which  the 
Spaniards  were  obliged  to  abandon,  the  women  and  old  men 
embarking  on  board  vessels,  which  were  fortunately  in  the  port, 
while  the  Governor  retreated,  with  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  and 
the  remnant  of  his  army,  to  Santiago.  Lautaro  consummated  the 
utter  ruin  of  Conception,  which,  owing  to  commerce  and  the 
mines,  had  become  a  place  of  wealth  and  importance. 

From  1553  to  1555,  the  Spaniards  enjoyed  comparative  quiet, 
relieved  occasionally  by  civil  dissensions  among  the  difl'erent 
candidates  for  governorship,  notwithstanding  which,  Yillagran 
managed  to  retain  his  authority,  with,  however,  only  the  title  of 
Corregidor,  in  lieu  of  that  of  governor,  which  had  been  held  by 
his  regularly  appointed  predecessor.    In  the  latter  year,  in  obe- 


70 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


dience  to  an  order  from  Lima,  Conception  was  rebuilt,  and  eighty- 
five  families  transported  to  it,  notwithstanding  the  objections  which 
existed  to  such  course,  owing  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
the  country.  The  rebuilding  of  this  city  was  a  signal  for  the 
renewal  of  the  war ;  and  the  Spaniards,  who  were  left  by  Villa- 
gran  to  check  the  Indians,  were  defeated  by  Lautaro,  and  the 
city  again  destroyed,  the  inhabitants  saving  themselves  by  a  hasty 
embarkation.  Not  satisfied  with  his  success  in  the  south, 
Lautaro  determined,  by  attacking  the  central  point  of  the  Spanish 
settlements,  to  extirpate  the  race,  so  hated,  and  so  formidable  to 
his  own. 

First  punishing  the  tribe  of  Promancaes,  whom  he  looked  upon 
as  traitors  to  the  cause  of  the  aborigines,  he  advanced  on  Santiago, 
and  after  two  considerable  advantages  over  the  Spaniards,  was 
defeated  and  slain  in  1556,  by  Villagran.  The  death  of  this 
formidable  chief,  who  could  not  have  been  more  than  nineteen 
years  old,  was  considered  of  so  much  importance  that  it  was 
celebrated  in  all  the  Spanish  colonies.. 

The  governor  nominated  by  the  king  upon  hearing  the  death 
of  the  chivalrous  Yaldivia,  never  reached  his  destination,  as  the 
ship  in  which  he  embarked,  with  600  regular  troops,  was  burned, 
owing  to  the  carelessness  of  his  sister.  Alderete,  the  governor 
elect,  and  three  soldiers,  were  saved  from  this  catastrophe,  but 
he  died,  it  is  said,  of  sorrow  and  mortification,  at  Panama,  before 
reaching  the  territory  which  he  was  appointed  to  govern.  The 
Viceroy  of  Peru,  Don  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  becoming  aware  of 
this  accident,  appointed  his  son,  D.  Garcia  Hurtado  di  Mendoza, 
to  fill  the  vacant  post,  providing  him  liberally  with  soldiers  and 
munitions  of  war.  The  new  governor  arrived  at  the  deserted 
Bay  of  Conception,  in  1557,  when  the  Indians  displayed  their 
inveteracy,  by  sallying  out  in  their  canoes  to  attack  the  ships. 
Repelled  by  the  artillery,  they  retreated  to  the  shore,  where  they 
stood  on  the  defensive.  After  a  futile  attempt  to  negotiate, 
Mendoza  fortified  himself,  and  sallied  out  to  attack  Caupolican, 
whom  he  defeated,  but  stained  the  brilliancy  of  his  achievements 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHILI. 


71 


by  Ins  cruelty,  and  added  to  the  horrors  of  a  war  of  extermiaation 
by  introducing  the  custom  of  mutilating  prisoners,  which  produced 
terrible  reprisals,  in  Vv-hich  neither  age  nor  sex  was  spared. 

After  a  battle,  fought  during  this  year,  in  which  victory,  after 
a  very  severe  contest,  declared  for  the  Spaniards,  all  prisoners 
who  fell  into  the  power  of  the  cruel  governor  were  tortured  and 
hung,  and,  among  others,  the  inflexible  patriot,  Oalvarino,  who 
had  returned  to  the  defence  of  his  country,  notwithstanding  he 
had  been  previously  mutilated,  by  losing  both  his  hands. 

The  most  important  events  which  occurred  during  the 
administration  of  Mendoza,  were  a  defeat  of  the  Araucanians  in 
1557,  the  re-building  of  Conception,  and  exploration  of  the 
Chilian  Archipelago,  in  1558.*  In  the  same  year,  treason  placed 
the  daring  and  indefatigable  Caupolican  in  the  hands  of  his  ene- 
mies. His  sentence,  which  was  immediately  executed,  was 
shooting  to  death  with  arrows,  and  impalement ;  not,  however, 
before  he  received  the  benefit  of  a  Christian  baptism  from  the 
hands  of  a  priest  who  accompanied  Alonzo  Reinoso,  the  com- 
mandant into  whose  hands  the  unfortunate  chief  had  fallen. 
Thus  died  Caupolican.  the  greatest  of  the  Araucanians,  whose 
long  and  successful  resistance  of  the  Spaniards  was  marked  by 
many  traits  of  a  noble  and  generous  nature,  and  stained  bj  fewer 
cruelties,  than  his  civilized  and  Christian  antagonists.  The  pun- 
ishment of  this  atrocious  crime  was  immediate  and  signal,  as 
Reinoso  was  attacked,  and  twice  beaten  at  Conception,  by  the 
eldest  son  of  the  deceased  chief,  who  had  been  elected  as  leader 
of  the  Indians,  in  the  task  of  avenging  his  father's  death.  So 
closely  was  Conception  besieged,  that  it  must  have  fallen,  had 
not  the  return  of  Mendoza  from  Chiloe,  with  a  large  force,  diverted 
the  attention  of  the  Indians,  who  advanced  to  meet  him,  and  after 
obtaining  some  partial  advantages,  were  utterly  defeated  in  1560, 
at  a  place  called  Quipeo,  where  they  had  fortified  themselves. 
Their  young  leader,  Caupolican,  died  by  his  own  hand,  when 

The  warrior  poet,  Ercilla,  accompanied  this  expedition,  and^Uke  a  true 
votary  of  Parnassus,  left  some  verses  inscribed  on  the  forest  trees. 


72  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES, 


resistance  had  become  useless.  As  Mendoza  was  relieved  in  1561 , 
Lis  last  public  act  of  any  importance  was  an  expedition  beyond 
the  Andes,  in  which  he  founded  the  city  of  San  Juan^  and  perpe- 
tuated his  name  by  the  establishment  of  Mendoza. 

Villegran,  who  had  been  replaced  by  Mendoza,  by  urging  his 
claims  at  the  Spanish  Court,  reeeiyed  the  appointment  of  Governor 
of  Chili,  which  he  held  until  his  death,  vfhich  occurred  two  years 
afterwards.  During  his  short  administration,  the  Araucanians, 
under  a  new  chief,  re-commenced  the  war  with  great  success,  and 
destroyed  the  city  of  Canete,  where  they  killed  a  son  of  the 
Governor.  In  1565,  Rodrigo  di  Quiroga  was  appointed  governor 
by  the  Viceroy  of  Lima,  to  replace  the  temporary  appointment 
made  by  Villagran.  The  interval  between  his  accession  in  IbGoy 
and  his  death  in  1580,  was  marked  by  no  incident  of  much 
importance  in  a  historical  point  of  view,  at  this  remote  period. 
A  royal  Audience  was  established  in  Chili,  which  deposed 
Quiroja,  and  was  in  itself  deposed  and  abolished,  when  General 
Quiroja  was  re-established  in  the  government,  which  he  retained 
until  he  died,  leaving  as  his  successor,  Rui  Gamboa.  During 
this  period,  the  war  continued  against  the  Araucanians  with  suc- 
cess, while  the  island  of  Chiloe  was  conquered,  and  the  city  of 
Castro  founded. 

During  all  this  period,  the  north  of  Chili,  free  from  the  scourge 
of  war  which  desolated  the  south,  had  progressed  in  commerce, 
agriculture,  and  the  arts,  while  riches  had  accumulated,  and  with 
wealth  and  security,  knowledge  had  been  rapidly  disseminated. 

In  1583,  the  Marquis  of  Yilla  Hermoza  arrived  from  Spain  as 
governor,  with  six  hundred  troops  of  the  line,  and  opened  a  cam- 
paign against  the  Indians,  in  which  he  was  generally  successful. 
He  defeated  and  hanged  a  half-breed,  who,  educated  among  the 
Spaniards,  had  abandoned  them,  and  became  general-in-chief  of  the 
Indians.  During  his  administration,  in  1587,  an  English  piratical 
expedition  under  Cavendish  made  a  descent  upon  the  coast,  but 
were  obliged  to  embark,  after  sustaining  some  loss.  Among  the 
Indian  leaders  who  distinguished  themselves,  during  the  adminis- 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHILI. 


*73 


tion  of  the  Marquis  of  Villa  Hermoza,  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
was  a  woman  named  Janaques,  who  fought  bravely  and  dexter- 
ously at  the  head  of  the  army.* 

In  1593,  his  administration  terminated  by  the  appointment  of 
a  nephew  of  the  famous  founder  of  the  company  of  Jesus,  Don 
Martin  Loyola,  who  was  slain  five  years  afterwards  in  the  new  city 
of  Caya,  which  he  had  founded.  The  death  of  the  governor  was 
the  signal  for  a  genei-al  rising  of  the  Indians,  who  burnt  Concep- 
tion and  Quillan,  laying  siege  at  the  same  time  to  eight  other 
cities,  killed  many  Spaniards,  and  secured  an  immense  booty  So 
great  was  the  terror  inspired  by  these  new  attacks,  that  the  pro- 
priety of  abandoning  the  capital,  and  retreating  to  Peru,  was  seri- 
ously considered.  The  new  governor,  Quinones,  who  arrived 
from  Peru,  in  1599,  with  powerful  reinforcements,  could  not  pre- 
vent the  utter  destruction  of  Arauco  and  Caiiete.  Yaldivia  wa» 
taken  by  assault,  its  houses  burned,  and  even  the  vessels  in  the 
harbour  attacked,  and  obliged  to  make  sail  to  escape.  The  booty 
obtained  by  the  Indians  in  this  campaign  amounted  to  near  two 
millions  of  dollars  ;  and  to  add  to  the  misfortunes  of  the  miserable 
settlers,  the  Dutch,  with  five  vessels,  sacked  the  Island  of 
Chiloe,  and  destroyed  its  garrison,  but  were  afterwards  beaten  by 

^  The  Chilians  peri)etuated  the  name  of  this  heroine,  and  that  of  Colocolo, 
two  of  their  most  inveterate  enemies,  by  bestowing  them  upon  national  ves- 
sels. It  is  observable  that  in  all  the  Spanish  American  revolutions,  the  Creoles 
professed  to  make  a  common  cause  with  the  Aborigines,  whose  injuries  they 
ostensibly  desired  to  avenge,  apparently  overlooking  the  fact  that  the  in- 
justice and  barbarity  which  they  suffered,  had  not  been  perpetrated  by  the 
distant  and  inoffensive  Spaniards  of  the  Peninsula,  but  by  their  own  immedi- 
ate progenitors. 

The  proudest  and  most  influential  families  in  South  America  are  those 
derived  from  the  early  conquerors. 

This  professed  union  of  causes  was  never  promulgated  in  the  Northern 
States,  where  the  races  have  never  been  crossed  to  any  extent.  The  true 
cause  of  this  different  course  must  be  sought  in  the  fact  that  we  are  a  more 
practical  and  less  imaginative  people  than  the  Spaniards.  In  our  case  it 
w^as  the  mother  country  which  invoked  the  aid  of  the  savages  in  the  war 
of  Independence,  as  well  as  that  of  1812-15. 


74 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


the  Indians,  when  they  disembarked  on  the  Island  of  Talca.  D155- 
couraged  bj  the  terrible  contest  in  which  he  found  himself  engaged, 
Quinones  resigned  in  1600,  and  was  succeeded  by  Don  Alonzo 
Rivera,  an  officer  of  much  credit,  who  arrived  from  Spain  with  a 
reinforcement  of  troops.  Notwithstanding  this  increased  force, 
in  1602  and  1603.  the  Indians  took  and  destroyed  the  cities  of 
Yillarica,  Imperial,  and  Osorno  ;  and  thus,  after  a  contest  of  one 
hundred  years,  the  progress  of  the  Spaniards  was  checked  at  this 
point,  no  advance  having  been  made  since  the  campaign  of  Pedro 
Yaldivia.  Garcia  Ramon  succeeded  Rivera,  and  established  a  city 
among  the  Boroas,  which  was  destroyed  in  1606,  and  the  army 
cut  to  pieces.  In  consequence  of  these  misfortunes,  which  were 
without  parallel  in  the  history  of  Spanish  colonization,  the 
king  ordaiaed  that  the  treasury  of  Peru  should  supply  annually 
§292,279,  to  pay  and  provide  for  a  regular  force  of  two  thousand 
men  upon  the  southern  frontier  of  Chili,  which  decree  was  car- 
ried into  operation  in  160S.  In  the  succeeding  year,  the 
Audience  was  re-established,  which  was  the  most  important  event 
which  occurred  until  the  accession  of  D.  Francesco  de  Zuiiiga, 
Marquis  de  Baides,  which  took  place  in  1641,  During  this 
period,  the  war  had  continued  with  varied  success,  and  several 
governors  had  been  replaced.  In  1612,  a  Jesuit,  under  regal 
sanction,  and  aided  by  the  governor,  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  negotiate  a  peace  with  tbe  Indians.  In  1629,  the  war 
raged  with  renewed  vigour  during  the  administration  of  Luis  de 
Cordova,  Lord  of  Carpio  ;  while  in  that  of  his  successor,  Don 
Francisco  de  Laso,in  the  year  1638,  the  Hollanders  made  another 
incursion  upon  the  coast  of  Chili,  but  without  success,  as  their 
fleet  was  injured  by  a  storm,  and  their  troops  attacked  by  the 
Araucanians,  with  whom  they  were  unable  to  establish  amicable 
relations.  The  administration  of  the  Marquis  de  Baides,  which 
extended  from  1641  to  1647,  was  marked  by  an  extraordinary 
event — a  peace  with  the  Araucanians.  Thus  in  1641,  after  ninety 
years  implacable  hostilities,  the  temple  of  Janus  was  closed  by 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  CHILI. 


75 


the  policy  and  sagacity  of  a  distinguished  warrior,  who  had  served 
with  much  credit  in  the  wars  in  Italy,  and  the  Low  Countries. 

Among  other  stipulations  in  this  highly  advantageous  treaty,  the 
Araucanians  promised  to  defend  the  coast  against  the  enemies  of 
Spain,  a  provision  which  soon  approved  the  wisdom  of  the  Mar- 
quis, as  the  Dutch,  having  now  possession  of  a  province  on  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  organized  a  formidable  expedition  against  Chili, 
and  took  the  port  of  Yaldivia,  which  they  commenced  fortifying,  a^ 
the  same  time  endeavouring  to  seduce  the  Indians  from  thei 
allegiance.  In  this,  however,  they  were  disappointed,  as  the 
Araucanians  and  Cancos  attacked  them  with  such  fury,  as  con- 
vinced them  of  the  utter  impossibility  of  retaining  their  foot-hold 
when  their  savage  antagonists  should  be  assisted  by  the  Spanish 
troops,  now  on  their  route  to  attack  them.  They  accordingly 
abandoned  the  port,  after  having  held  it  for  three  months.  From 
the  end  of  the  administration  of  the  Marquis  of  Baides,  in  1647? 
until  1720,  only  three  notable  events  occurred  to  disturb  the  even 
tenor  of  Chilian  prosperity — an  earthquake  in  the  year  of  his 
retirement,  which  ruined  a  large  portion  of  Santiago  ;  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  with  the  Araucanians,  which  was  termi- 
nated in  1665  by  a  favourable  treaty  of  peace  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Don  Francisco  Meneses  ;  and  in  1720,  a  revolution 
among  the  generally  peaceable  inhabitants  of  Chiloe,  which,  how- 
ever, was  easily  suppressed  by  the  Spanish  forces.  From  1720 
until  1810,  although  Chili  was  rapidly  advancing  in  prosperity, 
few  events  of  historical  importance  are  recorded,  as  the  specifica- 
tion of  the  different  governors  can  scarce  be  considered  so,  at 
this  remote  period.  The  most  important  event  was  a  war 
which  again  broke  out  with  the  Indians,  who  were  (says  a  modern 
Chilian  historian)  "incommoded  by  the  advancing  settlements  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  vexed  by  the  missions  which  they  were  obliged 
to  receive,  and  which  gave  rise  to  scandalous  robberies."  Chili 
was,  however,  no  longer  in  her  youth,  and  the  five  thousand  troops 
of  the  line  which  she  could  now  bring  into  the  field,  speedily 
compelled  them  to  sue  for  peace. 


76 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Thus  in  1723,  after  an  almost  continual  contest  of  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half,  during  which  period  success  was  nearly 
equally  balanced,  peace  was  renewed  with  the  Araucanians,  and 
from  that  time  we  find  victory  always  inclining  to  the  increasing 
power  of  the  Spaniards. 

In  1753,  D.  Domingo  Ortiz  de  Rosas,  grandfather  of  the  pre- 
sent governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  political  head  of  the  x\rgen- 
tine  confederation,  succeeded  as  governor  of  Chili,  and  erected 
several  towns,  among  which  were  Casa  Blanca,  already  mentioned, 
and  colonized  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  which  had  been 
hitherto  a  recruiting  station  for  pirates. 

In  1766,  the  governor,  D.  Antonio  Gruill  de  Gronzago,  en- 
deavoured to  oblio;e  the  Araucanians  to  reside  in  vilWes  and 
towns  in  a  social  state,  which  gave  rise  to  a  long  war,  at  the  ter- 
mination of  which  by  a  treaty  of  peace,  the  Indians  announced 
their  intention  of  having  a  sort  of  diplomatic  agent,  who  should 
reside  constantly  in  the  capital,  and  represent  their  interests.  In 
1780,  this  governor  having  died,  was  succeeded  by  Don  Augus- 
tine de  Jaurigui,  during  whose  administration  much  improvement 
was  made  in  the  social  state  of  the  country,  and  many  edifices 
planned,  which  are  to  this  day  the  best  efforts  of  Chilian  architec- 
ture. The  militia  were  organized,  a  college  was  established  for 
the  education  of  Indian  youth,  and  the  stone  bridge  erected  across 
the  Maypocho,  which,  as  has  been  before  mentioned,  passes  by 
the  city  of  Santiago.  In  1787,  having  been  pi-omoted  to  the  vice, 
royalty  of  Peru,  Jaurigui  was  succeeded  by  Don  Ambrosio  De 
Benavides,  a  contemporary  of  the  learned  Abbe  Molina,  the  histo- 
rian of  Chili.  During  his  administration,  the  Italian  eugineerj 
Joaquim  de  las  Tuescas,  erected  the  mint,  the  finest  edifice  in 
Chili  at  the  present  day,  the  Cabildo,  and  made  plans  also  for  other 
public  edifices,  which  were  built  in  succeeding  administrations. 

In  17SS,  Brigadier  Don  Ambrose  O'Higgins,  a  name- after- 
wards celebrated  in  Chilian  history,  arrived  from  Spain,  encharged 
with  the  government.  O'Higgins  was  an  Irishman  in  the 
Spanish  service,  a  man  of  great  foresight  and  intelligence,  whose 


Xi:arly  history  of  chill 


77 


efforts  will  be  long  remembered  with  gratitude  by  the  Chilians, 
as  not  only  do  they  owe  to  him  the  road  from  Valparaiso  to  the 
capital,  but  those  from  the  same  point  to  Quillota  and  Aconcagua, 
Neither  must  the  importance  of  these  communications  be  con- 
sidered as  his  only  merit,  as  he  taught  the  people  the  art  of  road- 
making,  and  the  utility  of  such  communications  ;  and  to  him  in  a 
high  degree  is  owing  the  fact  that  Chili  has  good  roads  for 
vehicles,  and  a  disposition  to  extend  them,  while  every  other  state 
in  South  America  appears  satisfied  with  the  existing  mule  paths. 
O'Higgins,  whose  views  appear  to  have  been  extended,  aware  of 
the  necessity  of  good  communications  with  the  transmontane 
Provinces  for  commercial  and  military  purposes,  repaired  also 
the  roads  in  the  Andes,  and  the  Casuchas,  or  houses  of  refuge,  to 
be  noticed  hereafter,  and  which  are  so  necessary  to  those  who 
traverse  that  lofty  range  of  mountains.  To  him  also  was  due  the 
paving  the  streets  of  the  capital,  the  building  of  a  fort  at  Valpa- 
raiso, the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  and,  as 
has  been  mentioned,  the  construction  of  the  Taj  a  Mar,  which  ob- 
viates the  danger  of  another  inundation  to  the  city  of  Santiago. 
In  1802,  he  received  the  reward  of  his  services  in  being  promoted 
to  the  vice-royalty  of  Peru,  after  which  no  events  of  importance 
occurred  in  Chili  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolution  during 
the  administration  of  Francisco  Antonio  Garrasco,  who  succeeded 
to  the  government  in  1808. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


REVOLUTION   IN  CHILI. 

Many  causes  combined,  induced  the  Chilians  to  aspire  to 
independence.  The  Spanish  throne  had,  in  1808,  been  usurped 
by  Napoleon,  who  placed  the  crown  upon  the  head  of  his  brother 
Joseph, — a  measure  so  unpopular,  that  even  the  victorious  French 
columns  which  preceded  and  accompanied  the  new  monarch, 
could  not  enforce  obedience  to  his  authority.  The  heads  of  the 
government,  in  the  persons  of  the  king  and  heir  apparent, 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  French  Emperor,  and  subject  to  his 
will ;  while  the  Spanish  noblesse,  dissatisfied  with  the  projected 
regime,  established  "  Juntas"  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
among  which  that  of  Seville  claimed  pre-eminence,  as  the  central. 
As  these  Juntas,  alike  with  the  dethroned  king,  and  him  whom 
Napoleon  had  placed  upon  the  throne,  claimed  the  prerogatives 
of  sovereignty,  it  was,  in  the  remote  colonies,  a  matter  of  some 
difficulty  to  decide  to  whom  it  would  ultimately  belong  de  facto  ; 
and  afforded  a  fair  opportunity,  should  such  be  desired,  to  disavow 
any  sovereignty  claimed  by  authorities  residing  in,  and  claiming 
obedience  by  virtue  of  their  positions  in  the  mother  country. 
Unfortunately  for  Spain,  she  had  given  cause  for  the  desire  for 
emancipation  now  openly  expressed  in  most  of  her  transatlantic 
possessions.  During  her  da^^s  of  power  and  prosperity,  she  had 
made  her  colonies  only  a  matter  of  convenience  to  the  parent 
state,  seldom  affording  them  the  assistance  which  they  required 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILL 


79 


in  the  hour  of  danger,  and  directing  her  sole  attention  to  making 
them  profitable  to  herself,  through  their  revenues,  and  as  supply- 
ing vacant  offices,  to  be  filled  by  scions  of  her  decayed  and 
impoverished  nobility.  All  restrictions  imposed  by  ecclesiastical 
intolerance  in  Spain,  had  been  brought  to  bear  with  additional 
force  in  the  Colonies,  whom  it  appeared  the  desire  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  keep  as  much  as  possible  ignorant  of  the  recently  diffused 
opinions  then  so  prevalent  in  Europe,  in  respect  to  religion  and 
politics.  A  state  of  ignorance,  however,  which  was  perfectly 
practicable  during  the  early  periods  of  colonial  history,  had  now 
become  impossible,  as  the  colonists,  with  the  increase  of  wealth, 
had,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  government  to  prevent  any 
from  attaining  more  than  a  purely  scholastic  education,  informed 
themselves  on  the  theories  regarding  the  social  system,  and  the 
newly  broached  relations  between  the  people  and  their  govern- 
ments. The  success  of  the  American  revolution  encouraged 
them  to  an  effort  at  independence,  while  that  in  France,  which 
had  terrified  even  the  legal  authorities  in  a  country  so  remote  as 
China,  could  not  be  concealed  in  the  various  Spanish  vice-king- 
doms in  North  and  South  America,  whose  aspirations  soon  rose 
to  the  same  independence  which  had  already  made  the  United 
States  one  of  the  important  nations  of  the  earth. 

Notwithstanding  the  rigidity  of  the  colonial  sj^stem,  education 
had  inspired  the  Spanish  Americans  with  a  desire  for  travel,  and 
wealth  had  enabled  them  to  indulge  it ;  and  thus  they  saw  the 
changes  in  empires  and  kingdoms,  to  which  new  opinions  had 
given  rise,  and  returning  to  their  birth-places,  spread  through  the 
country  an  ardent  desire  for  self-government,  a  theory  at  all  times 
attractive,  and  which  at  that  time,  more  than  any  in  history, 
enjoyed  unbounded  popularity  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  To 
attain  self-government,  they  must  first  obtain  the  choice,  which 
could  be  done  only  by  freedom  from  the  dominion  of  Spain,  for 
which  her  internal  commotions,  and  invasions  from  without,  gave 
a  fair  opening.  To  Spain  they  owed  origin  and  existence  only — 
a  claim  upon  their  gratitude,  which  oppression  had  long  since 


so 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


worn  out.  In  the  present  position  of  the  mother  country,  few 
obstacles  could  be.  presented  to  their  emancipation,  as,  contend- 
ing amid  war  and  faction  at  home,  she  could  ill  spare  troops  to 
act  against  the  colonists  ;  while  among  the  latter  there  was  no 
hereditary  nobility  to  break  down — no  rulers,  with  personal  or 
family  influence,  to  depose,  as  they  were  all  Spanish — while  the 
Creoles,  or  natives,  however  great  their  personal  claims,  could  not 
obtain  a  prominent  position  in  the  government  of  their  own 
country.  The  number  of  troops  quartered  among  them  was 
insignificant,  in  comparison  with  the  population  ;  and  the  most 
formidable  influence  with  which  they  would  have  to  contend,  was 
that  of  Spanish  residents,  merchants,  and  others,  who  had,  as 
they  considered,  expatriated  themselves,  in  order  to  gain  a  fortune 
in  the  colonies,  to  spend  in  the  Peninsula,  which  they  claimed  as 
the  land  of  their  birth,  and  that  to  which  only  they  owed  allegi- 
ance. The  desire  for  independence  manifested  itsalf  openly  in 
1810,  when  several  of  the  Vice-Royalties,  disclaiming  the  legality 
or  legitimacy  of  the  authorities  in  Spain,  which  attempted  to  con- 
trol them,  established  "  Juntas,"  or  Commissions,  to  govern 
themselves,  ostensively  temporary,  until  affairs  should  be  adjusted 
in  the  mother  country ;  but,  in  reality,  intended  by  the  master 
spirits  of  the  movement  as  a  prelude  to  national  independence. 
The  resident  loyal  Spaniards  themselves  hastened  this  movement, 
by  denouncing  these  Juntas  as  rank  rebellion  ;  as  did  also  the 
authorities,  who  attempted  by  force  to  crush  the  rising  disposition 
to  think  for  and  govern  themselves.  A  movement  against  the 
patriots  called  forth  the  strength  and  energy  of  the  ereole  popu- 
lation, of  necessity  the  largest  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
question  became  at  once  a  national  one.  The  result  throughout 
the  Spanish  colonies  no  one  is  unacquainted  with  :  our  province, 
at  present,  does  not  extend  beyond  Chili. 

The  first  movement  in  this  country  owed  its  origin  to  an 
arbitrary  act  of  Carrasco,  the  governor,  who,  aware  of  the  general 
disaffection,  and  assured  of  the  leaders,  had  them  seized  suddenly, 
with  the  intention  of  sending  them  as  prisoners  to  Lima — an  out- 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


81 


rage  which  immediately  produced  a  popular  commotion,  seconded 
by  the  Cabildo,  who  summoned  the  governor  before  them  to 
account  for  such  excess  of  authority.  Instead  of  obeying, 
Carrasco  ordered  that  this  body  should  be  dissolved,  a  decree 
which,  finding  public  opinion  strong  in  their  favour,  they  refused 
to  obey,  making  at  the  same  time  a  formal  and  threatening  com- 
plaint against  the  tyranny  of  the  governor  to  the  Royal  Audience, 
who,  better  acquainted  with  the  feeling  of  the  people,  and  their 
determination,  sent  a  commission,  recommending  his  concession 
to  their  demand. 

The  result  of  this  interview  was,  that  after  having  in  vain 
attempted  to  bring  the  troops  to  his  support,  Carrasco  liberated 
the  suspected  persons,  and  received  as  his  secretary  another 
patriot,  and  was  obliged  to  agree  that  all  his  acts,  which  did  not 
bear  the  signature  of  this  secretary,  should  be  invalid.  The 
news,  soon  after  received,  of  the  deposition  of  the  Viceroy  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  caused  new  agitation  in  Chili,  when  the  governor 
felt  the  necessitj^  of  a  vigorous  movement,  in  order  to  sustain  the 
royal  authority,  and  endeavoured  secretly  to  collect  a  body  of 
troops,  and  military  resources,  by  which  a  counter  movement 
might  be  supported.  Notwithstanding  his  care,  the  project  could 
not  be  concealed  from  the  Argus-eyed  secretary  and  his  com- 
patriots, who  immediately  held  another  session,  in  which  Carrasco 
was  obliged  to  resign,  and  a  native  of  Chili,  the  aged  Count  of 
the  Conquest,"  Don  Mateo  de  Toro,  elected  to  supply  his  place. 
The  troops,  in  this  movement,  lent  their  influence  in  favour  of 
the  patriots.  The  next  important  step  was  the  organization  of  a 
Junta  of  government,  which  was  established  in  the  same  year 
(1810),  of  which  the     Conde  de  la  Conquista"  was  president. 

Aware  that  the  steps  already  taken  would  bring  uj%i  them- 
selves the  whole  disposable  force  of  the  viceroy  at  Lima,  they 
hastened  to  organize  their  government,  and  form  a  militarj^  estab- 
lishment, in  which  they  could  confide  ;  and  with  this  view,  they 
encharged  Don  Juan  Mackena,  an  able  engineer,  with  the  military 
preparations,  which,  owing  to  his  talents  and  exertions,  were  soon 


82 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


in  an  advanced  state.  The  first  of  April,  1811,  was  nam  ed  for 
the  election  of  the  deputies  for  the  general  Congress,  which  was 
prevented  by  a  mutiny  of  a  large  body  of  veteran  troops,  who, 
dissatisfied  with  the  new  regime,  had  placed  at  their  head  their 
former  commander,  Figueroa,  and  availed  themselves  of  this 
opportunity  to  attempt  a  counter  revolution.  Fortunately  a 
majority  of  the  troops  remained  faithful,  with  whom  the  Repub- 
lican authorities  attacked  and  defeated  the  mutineers.  Figueroa 
was  made  prisoner,  and  shot  the  next  day,  while  the  R,oyal  Audi- 
ence, which  encouraged  his  designs,  was  dissolved.  The  attempt 
in  the  first  Congress,  which  met  on  the  6th  of  May,  to  legislate 
on  the  organization  of  the  Executive,  gave  rise  to  a  heated  dis- 
cussion, which  terminated  in  the  withdrawal  of  a  large  number 
of  deputies,  headed  by  one  Rosas,  who  protested  against  the 
Con;,ness  in  the  name  of  their  respective  provinces,  and  retired 
to  Conception,  intending  to  establish  a  government  independent 
of  Santiago.  The  Congress,  however,  continued  their  labours, 
and  formed  an  Executive  consisting  of  three  persons  named  by 
themselves.  On  the  24th  of  July,  of  this  year,  a  young  Chilian, 
Jose  Miguel  Carrera,  arrived  in  Valparaiso,  from  Europe, — a 
man,  whose  talents  and  enterprise  were  combined  with  considerable 
knowledge  of  the  mode  by  which  revolutions  are  consummated, 
and  who  was  destined  to  effect  great  changes  in  the  state  of  the 
new  republic,  and  eventually  to  concentrate  the  whole  power  in 
his  own  hands. 

Seeing  the  existing  state  of  afi'airs,  the  unskilfulness  of 
the  Executive,  and  cluaisiness  of  a  Congress  representing  various 
prpvincial  interests,  he  availed  himself  of  his  powerful  family 
influence,  and  the  services  of  his  two  brothers,  who  were  officers 
in  the  army,  to  organize  a  military  movement,  by  which  a  new 
Execut^e  was  created,  at  the  head  of  which  he  was  placed,  and 
afterwards  to  dissolve  Congress,  which  left  him  the  sole  adminis- 
ratof  oF  th^^  affairs  of  the  g)vernment.  His  official  acts,  after 
^biMinini-  power,  were  of  such  a  charact-;r  for  wisdom  and  philan- 
thropy, as  to  cause  the  means  by  which  he  had  elevated  himself 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


83 


to  be  temporarily  forgotten.  He  decreed  a  sustenance  to  the 
clergy  from  the  national  treasury,  the  liberty  of  slaves,  abolition 
of  life  offices,  monopolies,  the  suppression  of  useless  employments, 
the  establishment  of  supreme  tribunals  of  justice,  of  schools,  the 
organization  of  the  militia,  and  other  measures  to  develop 
industry,  and  place  the  country  in  an  active  state  of  defence. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year,  by  intrigue,  he  destroyed 
the  government  which  the  dissenting  deputies  had  actually 
established  in  Conception,  where  preparations  had  been  made  to 
take  the  field  against  the  legitimate  party  in  Santiago.  Having 
DOW  the  whole  country  under  his  control,  he  prepared  to  give  it 
a  constitution,  in  which  labour  he  was  employed  at  the  close  of 
1811. 

The  new  government,  which  had  now  acquired  some  stability, 
was  anxious  to  propagate  the  ideas  of  the  age,  and  to  foment  the 
spirit  of  independence,  republicanism,  and  resistance  to  the 
Spaniards  ;  and  to  effect  this  object,  imported  a  printing  press, 
and  established  a  political  journal  in  1812.  The  same  year  was 
marked  by  a  revolution  in  the  remote  city  of  Valdivia,  which 
being  successful,  left  no  foothold  for  the  Spaniards  in  Chilian 
territory,  except  in  Chiloe,  where  the  spirit  of  independence 
never  penetrated,  and  by  the  arrival  of  the  first  diplomatic  agent, 
Mr.  Poinset,  Consul  General  of  the  U.  States, — a  great  fiiend,'' 
says  the  Chilian  historian, and  decided  fomenter  of  our  political 
emancipation." 

The  events  which  marked  the  course  of  the  year  1813,  were, 
for  Chili,  of  much  political  importance,  and  threatened  its  poli- 
ical  existence.  The  Viceroy  of  Peru  learning,  though  tardily, 
*;he  important  movements  in  Chili,  decided  upon  decisive  mea- 
sures for  crushing  their  progress  ;  and  with  this  end  in  view, 
appointed  Brigadier  D.  Antonio  Pareja,  Governor  of  Chiloe,  sup- 
plying him  the  means  to  place  the  necessary  military  force  in  the 
field  against  the  revolutionists.  In  February,  he  disembarked 
3,400  troops  at  Talcahuano,  which  he  captured,  after  defeatiog 
its  garrison,  and  then  marched  upon  Conception,  where  the 


84  CHILI  AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


garrison  capitulated,  and  were  transferred  to  the  ranks  of  his 
army,  which  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  revolutionary 
party,  to  whose  misfortunes  at  this  period  must  be  added  a 
mutiny  on  board  a  corvette  and  brig  of  war  in  Valparaiso,  which, 
at  a  blow,  deprived  them  of  the  services  of  their  infant  marine. 
Carrera,  in  this  emergency,  showed  himself  competent  to  the  task 
which  he  had  imposed  upon  himself,  and  hastily  organizing  a 
numerous  army,  sallied  forth  to  meet  the  enemy,  who  was  direct- 
ing his  march  on  the  capital.  The  opposing  armies  encountered 
in  the  river  Maule,  which  Pareja  wished  to  cross  in  order  to  enter 
Talca,  but  was  surprised  by  a  division  of  the  patriots,  on  the 
morning  of  the  28th  of  April,  and  so  severely  handled,  that  he 
decided  on  retiring  to  Chilian.  This  action  is  known  in  Chilian 
history  as  that  of  Yerbas  Buenas.  Availing  himself  of  the  moral 
influence  of  the  defeat  and  subsequent  retreat  of  his  adversary, 
Carrera  pursued  the  Spanish  forces  rapidly,  and  having  overtaken 
them  in  the  Villa  of  San  Carlos,  attacked  them  with  such  impe- 
tuosity, that  they  were  beaten,  and  owed  their  escape  from  com- 
plete disorganization  only  to  Colonel  D.  Juan  Francesco  Sanchez, 
who  commanded  during  the  illness  of  his  general. 

Accomplishing  a  retreat,  Sanchez  entered  Chilian,  where  he 
was  rapidly  followed  by  the  victorious  army,  now  divided  by 
Carrera  into  three  divisions,  two  of  which  were  to  close  in  upon 
Chilian,  while  the  third,  under  command  of  O'Higgins,  was 
encharged  with  the  re-capture  of  Talcahuano  and  Conception, 
which  he  accomplished.  The  month  of  March  was  unfortunately 
employed  in  attempting  to  reduce  the  royalists  in  Chilian,  which 
place  had  been  most  skilfully  fortified  by  Sanchez,  who  finally 
forced  his  enemy  to  retire  to  Conception  ;  while  he,  availing  him- 
self of  a  central  strategical  position,  was  increasing  his  conquests 
in  every  direction,  having  his  communications  constantly  open 
with  Lima,  whence  he  expected  all  his  supplies  and  reinforce- 
ments, while  he  intercepted  his  antagonist's  communications  with 
Santiago.  A  gallant,  though  unsuccessful  effort  was  made  by  the 
Chilian  general  to  relieve  himself  from  this  inactive  position,  by 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


85 


an  attack  upon  Chilian ;  but  being  defeated,  he  was  obliged  to 
fall  back  upon  Conception,  with  his  forces  almost  entirely  dis- 
couraged and  disorganized. 

The  misfortunes  of  this  campaign  produced  much  discontent 
among  the  people  against  Carrera ;  even  that  mighty  engine,  the 
press,  which  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to  introduce  from  Europe, 
was  turned  against  the  unfortunate  and  absent  chief,  who,  with 
his  colleagues,  was  deposed  by  a  decree  of  the  Junta,  dated  De- 
cember 19th,  1813.  D.  Bernardo  O'Higgins,  (who  was  suspected 
of  having  conspired  against  his  chief,)  was  appointed  general  of 
the  army,  and  he,  Carrera,  believing  it  for  the  interest  of  his 
country,  quietly  resigned  the  command.  The  Junta,  which  was 
then  at  Talca,  having  deposed  Carrera,  returned  to  Santiago, 
where  they  were  dissolved  by  the  people,  who  convinced,  as 
many  other  communities  before  them  have  been,  that  the  "  wis 
dom  of  the  many"  is  more  than  compensated  by  the  single  will, 
unbiassed  decisions,  and  responsibility  of  one  clear-headed  man, 
had  determined  to  consign  the  duties  of  the  government  into  the 
hands  of  a  supreme  director,  the  first  election  falling  upon 
Colonel  D.  Francisco  de  la  Lastra.  Meanwhile  a  successor  to 
Pareja  had  arrived  from  Peru  in  the  person  of  General  Don 
Gr.  Gainza,  accompanied  by  a  corsidirable  body  of  troops,  who 
repaired  to  Chilian  to  commence  a  new  series  of  operations.  One 
of  his  parties  surprised  and  made  prisoners,  the  ex-general  Car- 
rera and  his  brother,  who  were  travelling  as  private  iadividuals  to 
Santiago.  The  operations  of  Grainza  were  generally  fortunate,  and 
Talca,  Talcahuana,  and  Conception,  yielded  to  his  arms,  although 
during  a  brief  campaign,  he  sustained  some  reverses  from  the 
patriot  forces  under  the  command  of  O'Higgins  and  Makenna. 
An  armistice  attributable  to  the  mediation  of  the  English  com- 
modore was  signed  on  the  5ih  of  April,  1814,  which  was  agreed 
to  more  readily  as  neither  party  had,  at  the  moment,  the  means 
of  prosecuting  active  hostilities.  By  the  stipulations  of  the 
armistice,  all  prisoners  were  delivered  up,  but  as  cessation  of  war 
accorded  at  that  time  with  the  views  of  neither  party,  it  was  soon 


86  CHILI  AXD  THE  ARGEXTIXE  FROVIXCES. 


terminated  by  actual  hostilities  in  the  month  of  August,  when 
General  Osorio  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  of  troops,  and  an- 
nounced that  the  former  adjustment  had  been  disapproved  by  the 
viceroy  at  Lima.  The  Spanish  interest,  at  the  recommencement 
of  hostilities,  was  supported  by  a  veteran  army  of  3000  men, 
who  held  the  whole  of  the  province  of  Conception,  while  the 
Chilians  were  not  only  without  effective  forces,  but  were  again 
divided  by  intestine  quarrels.  Carrera,  who  had  been  released 
by  the  armistice,  had  returned  to  Santiago,  where  his  influential 
friends  effected  a  pronunciamento,  by  which  the  supreme  director 
Lastra  was  deposed,  and  he  again  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
government.  The  defeated  party  appealed  to  O'Higgins,  who 
marched  immediately  upon  Santiago,  but  was  defeated,  and  com- 
pelled to  retire  by  the  forces  organized  by  Carrera.  A  peremp- 
tory summons  from  Osorio,  the  Spanish  general,  to  surrender, 
denouncing  the  severest  pci::.'::£  s  upon  those  who  refused,  effected 
the  desirable  object  of  reuniting  the  conflicting  interests,  as  the 
chiefs  began  to  be  conscious  of  the  truth  contained  in  the  quiet 
jest  of  Dr.  Franklin,  after  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence in  our  own  country,  that  '*  we  must  now  hang  to- 
gether, or  hang  separately."  As  soon  as  the  reconciliation  was 
effected  between  the  rival  chiefs,  CHiggins  took  position  with 
his  troops  at  Rancagua  ;  while  Carrera,  taught  I  suppose  by  for- 
mer experience  of  the  danger  of  leaving  the  capital,  and  the 
largest  city  in  the  republic,  open  to  the  machinations  of  his  ene- 
mies, took  the  command  of  Santiago  in  person.  O'Higgins  de- 
fended his  post  most  gallantly,  and  lost  the  flower  of  his  arniy  iu 
attempting  to  prevent  the  enemj-  from  passing  the  river,  but  in 
vain,  as  he  was  overpowere(J^by  numbers,  and  so  situated  that  Car- 
rera could  not  relieve  or  reinforce  him.  Finally,  after  sustaining 
a  terrible  cannonade  for  thirty  hours,  and  having  lost  his  best 
troops,  there  remained  no  resource  but  to  surrender,  or  attempt  to 
force  a  passage  through  the  enemy,  who  had  now  invested  him  iu 
every  direction.  Like  a  brave  and  desperate  man,  he  chose  the 
latter  alternative,  and  cut  his  way  through  the  opposing  force,  to 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


87 


the  astonishment  of  the  whole  Spanish  army.  The  patriots  had 
staked  their  all  upon  the  position  at  Rancagua,  and  it  was  lost, 
and  with  it  had  flowed  the  best  blood  in  Chili.  No  one  longer 
spoke  of  hope ;  despair,  and  escape  from  their  unfortunate  couq- 
try,  was  the  order  of  the  day ;  and  forsome  time  affcer  the  battle 
the  passes  in  the  Cordilleras  were  crowded  by  the  miserable  and 
suffering  inhabitants,  who  were  seeking  safety  in  the  Argentine 
Provinces,  which  had  been  more  fortunate  in  their  attempt  to 
throw  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  This  movement  of  the  population, 
to  all  appearance  the  termination  of  their  aspirations  for  liberty, 
was  but  the  dawning  of  a  more  happy  period,  when,  chastened  by 
adversity,  they  would  be  prepared  to  enjoy  more  rationally  that 
liberty  to  which  they  aspired.  The  military  excesses  of  the 
Spanish  soldiers  at  Rancagua,  whom  flashed  with  a  dearly-bought 
victory,  the  best  efforts  of  the  officers  could  not  restrain,  and  the^ 
more  systematic  cruelties  practised  by  the  general  in  confiscations, 
imprisonments,  and  banishments,  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon. 
Few  rulers  have  been  mild  when  treating  with  defeated  rebels  ; 
and  the  Spaniards  have,  at  no  time  in  their  history,  been  famed^ 
for  tenderness  to  enemies  so  that  events  in  Chili,  during  her 
darkest  hour,  may  well  pass  undescribed  in  detail.  The  entire 
country  again  fell  under  the  dominion  of  Spain ;  but  while  this 
was  the  case,  the  conduct  of  her  rulers  still  farther  alien- 
ated the  hearts  of  the  people.  The  Chilian  revolution  now 
changed  its  ground,  and  instead  of  being  confined  to  her  own  ter- 
ritory, is  to  be  found  beyond  the  Andes,  on  the  plains  of  Men- 
doza,  where  most  of  her  best  defenders  ha.d  found  refuge.  Prior 
to  the  attempt  at  independence,  the  result  of  which  has  been  already 
described,  the  Buenos  Ayrian,  the  most  powerful  of  the  new  Re- 
publics, had  watched,  with  much  anxiety  the  progress  of  the  war  ; 
being  aware  of  their  own  danger,  should  Spain,  proving  succes- 
ful,  establish  a  strong  military  foice  in  Chili,  from  whence  they 
themselves  might  be  invaded  through  the  passes  in  the  Cordille- 
ras. To  obviate  this  danger  the  government  had  encharged  the 
provinces  Q^  Cuyo  to  San  Martin,  their  most  celebrated  general, 


88 


'  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


who  was  ordered  to  organize  and  discipline  an  army,  which  would 
be  competent  to  repel  an  invasion  in  that  direction.  San  Martin 
had  but  commenced  his  labours  when  the  defeat  of  the  patriots 
at  Rancagua,  and  suppression  of  the  Chilian  revolution,  crowded 
Mendoza  with  refugees  from  that  country.  It  was  the  desire  of  the 
Chilians  to  obtain  their  independence,  and  the  suggestions  of  their 
leaders  which  probably  induced  San  Martin  to  plan  and 
execute  his  campaign  in  that  country,  the  boldness  and  success 
of  which  have  given  him  a  reputation  second  to  no  South  Ameri- 
can general.  The  refugees  were  accordingly  organized  with  the 
troops  of  the  Cuyo  provinces,  and  the  general-in-chief,  aided  by 
able  men,  such  as  O'Higgins,  Las  Heras,  Necochea,  and  others, 
dedicated  their  whole  attention  to  the  disciplining  of  their  troops 
and  of  other  warlike  preparations.  The  emigrants,  however,  bore 
with  them  to  Mendoza  the  same  party  spirit  which  had  actuated 
them  in  their  own  country.  At  the  head  of  one  party  was  Carrera 
and  the  other  O'Higgins,  who  accused  the  former  of  wilfully 
allowing  him  to  be  sacrificed  at  Rancagua.  So  decidedly 
was  this  hostility  of  parties  pronounced,  and  so  inveterate  were 
the  opposing  factions,  that  San  Martin  felt  obliged  to  take  a 
decided  stand  in  favour  of  one  or  the  other,  as  his  attempts  to 
reconcile  their  conflicting  interests  had  failed,  and  motives  of 
policy  induced  him  to  favour  the  party  of  O'Higgins,  while  that 
of  Carrera  was  persecuted,  and  expelled  from  Mendoza.  From 
1814  until  the  commencement  of  1817,  hostilities  were  suspended* 
San  Martin  was  organizing  an  army  with  which  to  invade  Chili, 
while  the  Spanish  authorities  ruled  the  whole  of  that  subdued 
colony  with  a  severity  which  prepared  the  minds  of  the  remaining 
inhabitants  for  the  invasion  which  they  anticipated  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Andes. 

On  the  17th  January,  of  1817,  the  liberating  army  moved 
upon  Chili.  The  main  body,  which  took  the  route  called  Puta- 
endo,  was  divided  into  three  columns,  commanded  respectively  by 
San  Martin,  Soler,  and  O'Higgins.  Besides  these  divisions, 
ot^^ers  followed,  which  acted  independently,  and  pursued  different 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


89 


routes,  being  commanded  by  Colonels  Las  Heras  and  Freire,  who 
were  to  enter  Chili  by  the  pass  of  Los  Patos,  and  that  near  Talca> 
respectively.  Two  other  divisions,  which  were  to  follow,  had  orders 
to  enter  Chili  by  the  Planchon,  and  by  Coquimbo.  It  was  thus  that 
the  attention  of  the  Spanish  commander  was  diverted  to  various 
points  of  attack ;  and  uncertain  as  to  the  real  point  of  danger,  the 
disposition  of  his  troops  was  faulty,  and  the  consequence  disas- 
trous, notwithstanding  the  preponderance  of  force,  which  was  about 
seven  thousand,  while  the  liberating  army  amounted  to  only  three 
thousand  men.  The  position  of  the  Spanish  general  in  Chili 
being  central,  would  have  given  him  with  this  force  a  great  ad- 
vantage, had  he  not  been  aware  of  the  dissatisfied  state  of  the 
country,  and  that  wherever  San  Martin  was  able  to  plant  his 
standard  the  people  would  flock  to  it,  and  soon  place  him  at 
the  head  of  a  force  superior  to  his  own.  Had  this  not  been  the 
case  the  division  of  force  by  the  Argentine  general  would  have 
been  fatal,  as  the  Spanish  commander  might  have  remained  with 
the  main  body  of  his  forces  at  Santiago,  while  a  few  light  troops 
increased  the  natural  obstacles  of  the  passes  in  the  Cordillera,  de- 
fending them  as  long  as  possible,  thus  embarrassing  the  move- 
ments of  the  army ;  and  even  after  these  obstacles  had  been 
passed,  the  Spaniard  from  a  central  point  could  have  struck  at 
either  of  the  divisions  of  his  enemy  while  separated,  and  defeated 
them  with  his  superior  force.  As  this  disposition  of  his  forces 
owing  to  the  feeling  among  the  Chilians,  was  impossible,  Marco? 
the  governor,  attempted  to  defend  every  threatened  point,  and 
thus  his  enemy  almost  invariably  presented  to  him  a  preponderating 
force.  The  first  battle  was  that  of  La  Guardia,  where  the 
Spaniards  had  availed  themselves  of  a  naturally  strong  position 
near  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera  on  the  Patos  road,  and  opposed 
themselves  to  Colonel  Las  Heras,  who,  after  a  severe  combat,  de- 
feated them  on  the  4th  of  February  with  much  loss,  and  con- 
tinued his  march  towards  the  plains  of  Chili.  Necochea,  a  cavalry 
officer,  had  also  an  encounter  with  an  enemy's  division  of  all 
arms,  on  the  7th,  in  which  he  broke  them  completely  by  a  gal- 


90 


CHILI  ANO  THE  ARC4ENTINE  PROVINCES, 


lant  charge.  The  Spanish  leader,  Colonel  D.  Eafael  Maroto, 
(recently  distinguished  in  the  Christine  and  Carlist  war  in  Spain,) 
now  becoming  aware  of  the  true  point  of  attack,  made  every  exer- 
tion to  concentrate  the  whole  royal  force  at  the  hill  of  Chacabuco, 
a  strong  and  defensible  pass  between  the  capital  and  San  Felipo 
de  Anconcagua,  and  over  which  San  Martin  would  of  necessity 
pass  ;  but  the  great  dissemination  which  had  been  made  of  the 
troops  before  the  command  was  given  to  him,  made  this  impossi- 
ble in  the  limited  time  which  the  rapid  movements  of  the  enemy 
had  left  him.  Before  a  concentration  could  be  effected  on  the 
12th  February,  the  enemy  were  in  front  of  his  position,  where, 
after  some  able  manoeuvres,  the  Spaniards  were  utterly  defeated, 
and  the  road  thus  left  open  to  the  capital.  Many  prisoners  were 
taken,  and  among  others  the  President  Marco,  who,  with  the  pub- 
lic treasures,  was  endeavoring  to  escape  to  the  nearest  seaport. 
Aware  of  the  necessity  of  rapidity  in  the  movements  of  an  invad- 
ing army,  San  Martin,  immediately  after  his  victory,  marched  on 
Santiago,  where  he  arrived  on  the  14th,  although  it  is  distant 
fifty  miles  from  Chacabuco.  Two  prisoners,  San  Bruno  and  Yil- 
lalobos,  notorious  for  their  crimes,  were  declared  beyond  the  pale 
of  the  laws  of  war,  and  publicly  hanged  ;  which  it  would  appear 
from  the  records,  were  the  only  acts  of  questionable  retaliation 
practised  by  the  Chilians  who  had  been  so  long  expelled  from 
their  country,  or  by  their  Argentine  allies.  With  a  promptness 
which  distinguished  all  the  movements  of  San  Martin,  a  national 
government  was  created  on  the  16th,  the  second  day  after  his 
arrival  in  the  capital,  over  which  O'Higgins  presided  with  the 
title  of  Supreme  Director. 

Notwithstanding  the  brilliant  successes  of  the  patriots,  much 
yet  remained  to  be  done,  as  the  Spaniards,  under  Colonels 
Ordonez  and  Sanchez — both  gallant  and  skilful  officers — con- 
trolled the  southern  provinces.  These  chiefs  had,  upon  the 
first  intimation  of  the  Argentine  invasion,  endeavoured  to  unite 
their  forces  with  the  other  royalists  at  Chacabuco ;  but  hearing 
of  the  defeat  of  the  army  under  Maroto,  before  their  arrival,  they 


REVOLUTION   IN  CHILI. 


91 


concentrated  upon  Conception,  where  they  were  pursued  by  the 
patriot  chief,  Las  Heras,  and  obliged  to  fall  back  upon  Talca- 
huano,  which  had  been  so  strongly  fortified  as  to  bo  alrnosti^ 
impregnable  against  the  defective  battering  trains  of  the  patriots. 
Notwithstanding  the  strength  of  the  place,  it  was  immediately 
besieged  by  Las  Heras,  when  ensued  a  series  of  operations,  which, 
for  daring  courage  and  intrepidity,  find  few  parallels  in  Chilian 
annals. 

While  waiting  for  O'Higgins,  who  was  to  assume  the  command 
in  chief,  Las  Heras  repelled  a  terrible  sally  made  by  the  enemy, 
who  had  been  reinforced  from  Lima ;  and  upon  the  arrival  of  his 
g  eneral,  he  headed  an  assault,  from  which  he  would  not  retire 
without  orders,  although  he  had  left  six  hundred  of  his  command  of 
a  thousand  men  in  the  ditches  of  the  work.  In  this  assault,  Greneral 
Bulnes,  the  actual  President  of  the  Republic,  served  as  a  subaltern. 
While  the  siege  of  Talcahuano  was  slowly  progressing,  it  was 
determined  that  the  oath  of  independence  should  be  taken  on  the 
12th  of  February,  1818,  when  Chili  presented  herself,  and  claimed 
admission  into  the  fraternity  of  nations. 

Meanwhile,  San  Martin,  whose  administrative  talents  appear 
fully  to  have  equalled  his  military  skill,  was  using  every  exertion 
to  establish  a  Chilian  army,  and  to  recruit,  from  the  other  side 
of  the  mountains,  his  Argentine  regiments,  being  well  aware  that 
the  struggle  for  liberty  was  by  no  means  concluded.  Nor  was 
the  Yiceroy  at  Lima  idle  as  Osorio  :  the  victor  at  Kancagua  was 
sent  with  reinforcements  to  Talcahuano,  where,  upon  taking  com- 
mand, he  found  himself  at  the  head  of  about  5,000  troops  of  all 
arms — a  sufficient  force  to  oblige  O'Higgins  to  raise  the  siege  o't 
that  place,  by  taking  the  field  against  him.  San  Martin  had, 
meanwhile,  taken  the  field,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  his  army  ; 
and,  after  lying  a  few  months  in  camp,  at  the  Hacienda  do  las 
Tablas,  near  Valparaiso,  found  himself  at  the  head  of  near  9,000 
troops,  in  an  effective  condition,  and  headed  by  competent  officers. 

Osorio  had  advanced  beyond  the  river  Maule,  when  he  found 
himself,  owing  to  the  skilful  movements  of  San  Martin,  so  com- 


92 


CHILI  ANT)  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


pletely  involved  by  the  columns  of  the  enemy,  that  he  could  not 
retreat,  being  completely  cornered  on  the  banks  of  that  river,  and 
in  such  a  position  that  he  would  be  obliged  to  give  battle  on  the 
following  day,  the  20th  of  March,  to  forces  so  superior,  that  suc- 
cess could  not  be  anticipated.  Calling  a  council,  a  surprise  was 
determined  upon,  to  be  attempted  that  night,  which,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  patriots  were  at  that  moment  changing  the  order  of 
their  camp,  was  completely  successful.  This  surprise  was  nearly 
as  unfortunate  for  the  Chilians  as  the  battle  of  E,ancao:ua,  as  the 
whole  army — except  the  division  of  Las  Heras,  who,  upon  this 
occasion,  obtained  his  title  of  the  Hero  of  Cancha  Rayada — was 
destroyed  and  disorganized. 

Again  the  scenes  which  followed  the  battle  of  Rancagua  were 
re-enacted,  and  the  emigration  again  streamed  toward  the  Argen- 
tine territories,  and  all  despaired  of  the  freedom  of  their  country, 
The  advance  of  the  enemy's  victorious  columns  upon  Santiago 
commenced  upon  the  24th  of  September,  1818.  For  a  time  San 
Martin  was  undecided  whether  to  wait  his  arrival  or  retreat  upon 
Mendoza,  but,  influenced  by  his  principal  generals,  whose  inte- 
rests were  Chilian,  he  determined  on  the  former  alternative  ;  and 
having  once  determined,  he  threw  all  the  influence  of  a  mind 
naturally  powerful,  and  full  of  resources,  upon  the  organization 
of  a  new  army,  to  be  formed  from  the  wreck  of  that  he  had 
already  led  into  the  field — some  battalions  of  which  fortunately  had 
not  shared  in  that  disaster — and  from  the  recruits  which,  on  the 
impulse  of  the  moment,  he  was  able  to  organize.  His  camp  was 
pitched  to  the  southward  of  the  capital ;  and  when  the  gallant 
division  of  Las  Heras  came  to  incorporate  themselves  with  his 
command,  they  were  received  with  salutes  of  artillery,  and  all  the 
military  honours  which  could  be  bestowed — a  deserved  and  judi- 
cious compliment,  the  eficct  of  which  was  not  only  to  reward  the 
troops  of  this  gallant  leader,  but  id  stimulate  the  ambition  of 
others.  Having  organized  his  forces,  he  moved  his  camp  toward 
the  enemy,  whose  movements  he  commenced  to  observe  ;  and  to 
prevent  the  Spaniards  from  taking  possession  of  Valparaiso,  he 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


93 


chose  a  position  on  the  plains  of  Maypu,  determined,  if  neces- 
sary, to  risk  a  general  battle,  rather  than  permit  such  consum- 
mation. On  the  5th  of  April,  the  Royalists  made  their 
appearance,  and  at  mid-day  the  two  armies  joined  in  a  general 
battle — that  of  Maypu — one  of  the  most  famous  which  has  been 
fought  in  South  America.  The  royalists  were  defeated  and 
driven  from  the  field,  but  again  presented  a  front  with  their 
infantry  and  artillery,  in  the  Hacienda  of  Espejo,  where  they 
placed  their  batteries  in  position  to  defend  the  approaches,  and 
fortified  themselves  within  the  houses.  But  all  efforts  to  retrieve 
the  day  were  fruitless,  as  the  patriots,  flushed  with  victory, 
fighting  for  home  and  their  country,  and  anxious  to  wipe  off  the 
stain  of  the  surprise  at  Cancha  Rayada,  were  invincible  ;  and 
from  this,  their  last  hold,  the  Spaniards  were  marched  as  prisoners 
of  war.  General  Osorio  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  in  disguise. 

Thus  terminated  the  battle  of  Maypu — the  Yorktown  of 
Chilian  independence — as  the  dominion  of  the  Spaniard  was 
destroyed,  not  to  be  again  restored.  Osorio,  upon  reaching 
Conception,  appointed  Sanchez  governor  of  the  Province,  after 
which  he  dismantled  and  deserted  Talcahuano,  and  embarked  for 
Peru. 

The  patriots,  however,  did  not  attempt  at  this  time  to  follow 
up  their  successes,  but  turned  their  attention  to  the  re-organization 
of  their  troops,  and  the  establishment  of  a  national  marine,  so  ne- 
cessary for  the  defence  of  their  own  coast,  or  should  an  oppor- 
tunity offer,  for  operations  against  the  Spanish  forces  in  Peru, 
which  yet  remained  the  central  point  from  whence  emanated  all 
offensive  operations  on  the  part  of  the  Royalists.  The  first 
exploit  of  the  infant  marine — which  was  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  Vice-Admiral  Blanco  Encalada,  a  distinguished  artillery 
ofiicer,  who  had  served  with  credit  in  the  battle  of  Maypu — was 
the  surprise  and  capture  of  the  Spanish  frigate  Isabel,  which  had 
convoyed  2,000  troops  from  Cadiz.  Blanco  captured  also  nearly 
the  whole  of  this  expedition,  and  most  of  the  transports.  In 
November  of  the  same  year,  the  famous  Lord  Cochrane — whose 


94 


CHILI  AXD   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


efforts  in  behalf  of  liberty  would  entitle  him  to  a  high  stand  in 
public  opinion,  had  not  his  avarice  and  selfishness  invariably 
destroyed  his  claims — arrived  in  Chili,  and  being  employed  by 
the  Government,  hoisted  his  flag  as  a  Chilian  Tice-Admiral,  on 
board  the  "  O'Higgins,"  the  late  Spanish  frigate  Isabel.  From 
that  time  until  1S22,  this  enterprising  and  skilful  seaman  gave 
the  Spaniards  no  rest  at  sea — their  only  shelter,  and  that  not 
always  effective,  being  under  the  guns  of  the  Castle  of  Callao. 
In  1820,  Cochrane's  squadron,  with  land  troops  on  board,  attacked 
and  completely  defeated  the  Spaniards  in  Valdivia,  which  left 
the  Chilians  masters  of  all  the  territory  pertaining  to  the  former 
colony,  with  the  exception  of  the  Archipelago  of  Chiloe.  From 
1820  to  1822,  the  assaults  of  the  Chilian  squadron,  under 
Cochrane,  continued  against  the  Spanish  cruisers  and  commerce, 
until  the  Spanish  flag  was  nearly  banished  from  the  Pacific.  So 
daring  was  this  adventurer,  that  he  even  cut  out  the  Spanish 
frigate  "  Esmeralda,"  while  lying  under  the  guns  of  the  formidable 
Castles  of  Callao.  In  1820,  General  San  Martin,  in  his  turn, 
aided  by  the  Chilians,  weighed  anchor  from  the  port  of  Valparaiso 
with  an  army  of  4,000  men,  and  soon  after  landed  in  the  north 
of  Peru,  where  he  kept  up  a  series  of  successful  operations  in  the 
heart  of  the  Spanish  influence,  until  the  independence  of  that 
country  was  finally  consummated  by  Bolivar  and  Sucre,  in  the 
battles  of  Junin  and  Ayacucho,  fought  in  1824.  Active  hostili- 
ties in  Chili  having  concluded  in  1823,  the  Directoral  Govern- 
ment, to  which  the  people  had  submitted  during  the  war,  became 
obnoxious,  as  it  was,  in  reality,  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
military  despotism,  with  no  constitutional  legislative  bodies  to 
temper  its  absolutism.  The  Chilians  began  to  consider  that  they 
had  fought  for  a  free  representative  government,  and  not  a  change 
of  rulers;  and  the  dissatisfaction  with  the  Directoral  Government, 
and  the  disposition  to  depose  O'Higgins,  became  very  general 
throughout  the  Provinces.  The  dissatisfaction  which  caused  the 
Chilians  so  soon  to  forget  the  signal  services  of  their  most  distin- 
guished revolutionary  hero,  may  be  measurably  explained  bj  the 


REVOLUTION  IN  CHILI. 


95 


fact  that  O'lliggms  was  the  leader  of  a  party  ;  and  that  his  oppo- 
nents, whom  he  persecuted,  though  the  weakest,  were  far  from 
contemptible,  and  were  able  by  their  influence,  aided  by  the 
general  dissatisfaction  with  the  existing  form  of  government,  to 
effect  his  removal.  This  was  effected  toward  the  end  of  January, 
1823,  when  the  Cabildo,  supported  by  the  most  influential  citizens 
of  Santiago,  and  the  troops  of  the  garrison,  informed  the  Supreme 
Birectoii  that  his  continuance  at  the  head  of  affairs  was  inadmis- 
sible. Having  assured  himself  that  this  was  the  public  will,  ho 
showed  none  of  that  tenacity  in  retaining  power  which  has  fre- 
quently been  displayed  to  a  humiliating  extent  by  distinguished 
men.  Stripping  himself  of  the  insignia  of  his  office,  he  tendered 
his  resignation,  and  parting  in  courtesy  at  least,  if  not  in  friend- 
ship, with  the  triple  Junta  nominated  to  succeed  him,  set  out  for 
Lima,  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  notwithstanding  an 
invitation  from  the  Chilian  government  to  return.  Such  was  the 
political  fate  of  the  most  distinguished  Chilian  general,  whosi; 
unceasing  efforts  attained  the  independence  of  his  country.  He 
had  h's  fiiults,  doubtless  ;  he  was  arbitrary,  and  displayed  a  vin- 
dictiveness  toward  his  rivals  and  opponents,  especially  the  Carrera 
family,  which  must  detract  much  from  his  reputation  as  a  disin- 
terested patriot.  His  eulogy  is  the  narration  of  his  military 
exploits,  which  have  been  already  briefly  recorded ;  and  the  quieti 
dignity  with  which  he  retired  from  power  must  command  tho 
respect  of  all  who  peruse  his  whole  history. 

As  generally  occurs  with  the  multitude,  the  change  of  govern- 
ment soon  ceased  to  satisfy ;  and  before  the  end  of  the  year,  tho 
office  of  Supreme  Director  was  again  created,  and  the  dignity 
conferred  on  General  Freire.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new 
Director  was  to  reinforce  the  liberating  army  in  Peru  by  .2,000 
men,  who  were  dispatched  from  Valparaiso,  coward  the  close  of 
1S23,  under  command  of  Greneral  Pinto,  with  orders  to  touch  at 
intermediate  ports.  Before  arriving,  they  learned  that  the 
patriots  had  been  totally  routed  by  Greneral  Yaldez,  upon  which 
they  returned  immediately  to  Chili,  affording  the  Director  an 


96  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


opportunity  to  avail  bimself  of  this  force  for  the  conquest  of 
Chiloe,  the  only  point  in  the  Chilian  territory  now  held  by  the 
Spaniards.  The  Expedition  under  Colonel  Beanchef  arrived  at 
the  Archipelago,  in  April,  1824,  and  took  the  field  against  the 
enemy ;  but  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  the  gallant  leader, 
their  invasion  was  repelled,  and  the  troops  obliged  to  retire  to 
Conception.  The  importance  of  this  island  to  the  Spaniards, 
who  continually  fomented  disorder  and  dissatisfaction  in  the 
southern  provinces,  was  sufficiently  apparent  to  all^;  and  as  the 
national  honour  was  compromised,  another  expedition  was  organ- 
ized, with  more  care,  during  the  year  1825,  which  arrived  in 
San  Carlos,  in  Chiloe,  in  January  of  the  year  following,  under 
command  of  the  Supreme  Director,  and  taking  the  field,  succeeded 
in  utterly  destroying  the  Spanish  forces  under  Quintanilla,  and 
hoisting  in  the  Archipelago  the  Chilian  flag,  which  now  floated 
undisturbed  over  every  portion  of  territory  governed  by  the 
Spanish  President  of  the  ancient  Colony,  but  now  the  free  and 
independent  Republic  of  Chili.  Thus  terminated  the  secondhand 
most  glorious  epoch  of  Chilian  history :  the  third  is  little  more 
than  a  history  of  parties,  and  record  of  civil  strife  ;  but  being 
necessary  to  complete  the  sketch,  and  display  the  slow  process 
by  which  the  Republic  attained  its  present  respectable  position,, 
we  will  review  it  briefly,  bringing  it  up  to  the  existing  state  of 
things. 


CHAPTER  VIII, 


HISTORY   SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


After  a  popular  administration  of  three  years,  General  Freire 
resigned  the  Directorship,  in  1826.  No  less  than  six  Presidents 
succeeded  between  1826  and  1830,  under  the  new  constitution, 
each  one  serving  but  a  short  time,  and  resigning  with  disgust, 
when  he  was,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  that  instrument, 
succeeded  by  the  Yice-President,  and  he,  in  turn,  by  the  President 
of  the  Senate.  During  this  short  period,  dissatisfaction  was 
general,  and  some  revolts  occurred  among  the  military,  which 
was  the  real  power  by  which  the  country  was  governed.  In  1830, 
Congress  was  declared  an  unconstitutional  and  body  ;  the  President 
Vicunia,  who  had  succeeded  to  that  office  from  the  Presidency  of 
the  Senate,  was  at  issue  with  the  Junta  Governativa.  General 
Prieto,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Southern  army,  declared  in 
favour  of  the  Junta,  and  commenced  marching  upon  Santiago, 
but  was  met  at  Ochagavia  by  General  Lastra,  who  adhered  to  the 
President,  when  a  battle  ensued,  in  which  the  success  was  so 
equally  balanced,  that  both  parties  claimed  a  victory.  Freire, 
who  attempted  an  unsuccessful  mediation,  afterwards  joined  the 
President  with  all  the  forces  who  would  acknowledge  his  claim 
to  their  obedience  as  Captain  General,  but  was  defeated  by  the 
Southern  army  under  Prieto,  and  banished  in  1830.  Tayle  was 
now  elected  President,  but  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 


98 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES, 


Vice-President,  who  also  dying,  was  succeeded  by  the  President 
of  the  Senate,  who  acted  until  Prieto  was  elected  in  1830.^ 

With  the  election  of  Prieto,  who  was  assisted  by  Diejo  Portales, 
Minister  of  War  and  the  Interior,  commenced  a  better  order  of 
things,  when  reformation  and  unflinching  improvement  became 
the  order  of  the  day.  The  constitution  having  been  considered 
faulty,  another  was  proposed  by  Prieto,  which,  having  been  ap- 
proved, was  promulgated  in  1833,  and  being  that  actually  in 
force,  will  be  discussed  under  the  head  of  "  Government,"  in  the 
next  chapter.  Portales,  perfectly  aware  that  no  government 
could  be  stable,  so  long  as  liable  to  a  complete  revolution  by 
means  of  the  military  force  of  the  country,  which  was  at  the  dis- 
posal of  many  and  rival  chieftains,  determined,  as  a  first  step,  to 
limit  their  influence,  by  establishing  a  counterpoise  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  militia,  whose  efficiency  soon  destroyed  the  over- 
weening power  of  the  regular  establishment.  Not  satisfied  witli 
this  radical  change,  and  with  a  view  also  to  economy  in  the 
administration,  the  army  was  reduced,  and  many  useless  officers, 
civil  and  military,  struck  from  the  list. 

Portales,  who  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
all  the  politicians  of  his  own  country,  was  one  of  those  men  who, 
like  Tacon,  in  Cuba,  was  by  nature  eminently  calculated  to  master 
the  inferior  but  turbulent  people  around  him  ;  and  perhaps  there 
were  few  of  the  leading  men  of  that  day  who  were  not  more  or 
less  in  his  power,  and  whom  he  could  not,  and  would  not  have 
crushed,  had  they  attempted  opposition  to  his  measures,  which 
were  undoubtedly  intended,  as  they  were  adapted,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  country  and  the  masses,  as  well  as  the  respectability  of  the 
government  abroad.  To  him  Chili  owed  its  public  credit,  which 
had  been  low — the  development  of  many  of  its  resources — and 
the  establishment  of  a  police  unequalled  in  America,  the  benefit 

=^  There  appears  to  have  been  a  singular  mortality  among  the  Chilian 
Presidents  during  this  stormy  period  of  her  history,  which  is  not  clearly 
accounted  for. 


HISTORY  SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


99 


of  which  he  himself  eujoyed  ia  watching  and  checking  the  tur- 
bulent. It  is  true  that  his  attempts  at  foreign  negotiation,  and 
interference  with  other  powers,  led  his  country  into  a  war  ;  but 
owing  to  his  combinations,  which  were  acted  upon  even  after  his 
death,  it  was  a  glorious  and  beneficial  contest  for  Chili.  The 
practical  advantages  derived  from  it  have  already  been  alluded 
to  in  discussing  the  commerce  of  Valparaiso,  in  the  first  chapter. 
The  policy  of  the  Chilian  Administration,  which  brought  about 
the  rupture  with  Peru,  was  more  than  questionable.  A  treaty 
had  been  negotiated,  highly  advantageous  to  the  former  country  ; 
but  before  it  was  fully  sanctioned,  the  Peruvian  President,  Obe- 
joso,  was  driven  from  the  executive  chair,  by  a  rebel  chieftain 
named  Salivera,  with  whom,  at  the  head  of  the  government  de 
facto^  ratifications  were  exchanged,  even  while  Obejoso's  agent 
continued  to  reside  near  the  Chilian  government,  and  while  the 
legitimate  President  was  still  in  arms  against  the  usurper.  It  is 
at  all  times  difficult,  particularly  for  a  stranger,  to  obtain  the 
true  sentiments  of  a  subordinate  in  an  administration  upon  a 
delicate  subject ;  but  I  have  every  reason  to  believe,  from  infor- 
mation received  from  his  contemporaries  and  personal  friends, 
that  this  step  never  met  the  approbation  of  the  enlightened  Por- 
tales.  Soon  after  this  exchange  of  ratifications,  Obejoso,  aided 
by  Santa  Cruz,  President  of  Bolivia,  defeated  the  rebels,  Salivera 
and  Gamarra,  at  the  battle  of  Socabaya,  after  which  the  latter 
escaped  to  Chili,  and  the  former,  with  his  principal  officers,  was 
shot.  Obejoso  was  now  re-established  in  his  government,  and  feeling 
the  slight  which  he  had  enduredat  the  hands  of  the  Chilians, 
annulled  the  treaty  by  a  decree,  conceding  four  months  for  its 
renewal,  which  time  having  been  allowed  to  pass  by  the  latter 
without  taking  any  action  in  the  premises,  discriminating  duties 
were  placed  on  their  products  and  merchandise  transhipped  from 
any  of  their  ports.  The  Peru  Bolivian  Confederation  placed 
Santa  Cruz,  amid  expressions  of  fervent  gratitude  on  the 
part  of  Peru,  at  the  head  .of  the  two  governments  as  supreme 
Protector — Obejoso  being,  in  reality,  little  more  than  his  titled 


100  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


agent.  To  liis  influence  was  attributable  a  commercial  regula- 
tion unquestionably  beneficial  to  Peru,  by  which  double  duties 
were  charged  upon  importations  from  any  vessel  which  had 
touched  at  V alparaiso  ;  a  measure  by  which  Chili  could  not  but 
suffer,  as  she  had  been  hitherto  a  deposit  whence  Peru  had  re- 
ceived her  merchandize  in  proportion  to  demand,  after  first  pay- 
ing transit  duties  in  the  former  country.  Chili  now  saw  that  she 
had  much  to  fear  from  the  Peru  Bolivian  Confederation  and  its 
clear-headed  supreme  chief ;  and  hostilities,  which  were  doubtless 
intended,  were  hastened  by  an  invasion  attempted  by  General 
Freire,  from  the  Port  of  Callao,  at  the  head  of  the  Chilian  emi- 
grants who  had  been  banished  after  the  defeat  by  Prieto  in 
1830.  That  this  expedition,  which,  owing  to  the  energy  and 
talent  of  Portales  terminated  without  bloodshed,  was  connived  at 
by  Obejoso,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  question  ;  but  that  Santa 
Cruz  neither  advised  nor  was  cognizant  of  it  I  think  no  less  cer- 
tain. Freire  was  again  banished,  but  no  one  was  capitally  exe- 
cuted, as  the  tenders  of  assistance  from  all  quarters  to  the  gov- 
vernment  during  the  attempt,  convinced  the  President  and  his 
sagacious  minister  that  they  could  afford  to  show  their  contempt 
of  such  ill-concerted  and  ill-advised  enterprises  by  leniency  toward 
the  perpetrators.  The  Chilian  government,  conscious  of  the  advan- 
tages they  must  lose  owing  to  the  new  state  of  things  brought  about 
by  the  influence  of  Santa  Cruz,  and  jealous  of  the  power  of  the 
Peru-Bolivian  Confederation,  which  it  was  deemed  their  interest 
to  dissolve  at  all  hazards,  availed  themselves  of  the  excuse 
afforded  by  Freire's  expedition  to  make  a  demonstration  upon 
Peru.  A  minister,  accompanied  by  a  squadron,  was  accordingly 
dispatched  in  1S36,  to  make  reclamations  on  the  Peruvian  gov- 
ernment for  injuries  attributable  to  that  expedition,  as  well  as  the 
discriminating  duties  upon  transhipped  merchandize. 

That  the  original  intention  of  this  mission  was  hostile  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  doubt,  as  the  first  act  of  the  squadron  was  to  surprise 
and  capture  all  the  Peruvian  vessels, of  war  which  were  lying  in 
Callao  roads,  and  place  them  under  the  guns  of  their  own  ships, 


HISTORY  SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


101 


wliicti  were  anchored  near  San  Lorenzo  and  out  of  reach  of  the 
guns  of  the  castles.  This  act  of  aggression  was  ostensibly  in- 
tended to  prevent  a  repetition  of  an  attempt  to  invade  their 
territories,  and  was  measurably  justified  by  the  fact  that  Obejoso 
previously  had  chartered  the  Peruvian  vessels  of  war  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  and  that  two  of  them  had  been  obtained  on 
false  pretenses  by  Freire  for  his  expedition  against  Chili.  Soon 
after  this  act  of  hostility  a  conference  was  agreed  to,  the  result  of 
which  was,  that  the  Peruvian  vessels  should  remain  in  the  hands 
of  the  Chilians — that  hostilities  should  be  suspended  on  both 
sides,  each  party  being  also  precluded  from  making  any  warlike 
preparation.  Santa  Cruz,  upon  this  occasion,  most  solemnly,  and 
as  I  believe,  most  truthfully  disavowed  all  participation  in 
Freire's  attempt  to  revolutionize  Chili ;  and  expressed  his  willing- 
ness to  refund  to  that  government  all  the  expenses  which  it  had 
incurred  in  suppressing  it — an  offer  which  he  could  make  without 
compromising  his  dignity,  as  the  expedition  had  sailed  from 
Callao,  a  city  pertaining  to  the  Confederation,  where  the  local 
authorities  ought  to  have  been  assured  of  its  innocence  before 
permitting  it  to  leave  the  port.  Although  the  minister  could  not 
sign  a  definitive  convention,  Santa  Cruz  bound  himself  to  fulfil  the 
conditions  which  it  imposed  upon  him  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
took  every  measure  in  his  power  to  convince  the  agent  and  his 
government  of  his  desire  to  cultivate  amicable  relations  with 
Chili.  That  he  acted  in  perfectly  good  faith  no  one  can  doubt, 
as  his  protestations  upon  this  occasion  were  corroborated  by  his 
conduct  subsequently,  when  the  advantage  was  clearly  on  his 
side.  Upon  the  return  of  the  Chilian  agent,  the  government, 
which  had  now  determined  to  regain  their  commercial  supremacy, 
and  destroy  the  influence  of  Santa  Cruz,  commenced  warlike 
preparations ;  and  fitting  out  ali  their  vessels,  among  which  were 
the  prizes  taken  from  the  expedition  of  Freire,  and  those  some- 
what treacherously  captured  at  Callao,  the  fleet  was  sent  to  Peru 
with  their  "  ultimatum" — the  dissolution  of  the  Confederation  and 
restoration  of  sovereignty  to  Peru  and  Bolivia.    To  this,  Santa 


102 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Cruz  positively,  and  with  mucli  propriety,  refused  to  accede, 
more  especially  as  it  was  accompanied  by  a  threatening  display 
of  force.  In  Decem^ber,  1836,  Chili  declared  war  against  the 
Confederation,  and  commenced,  under  supervision  of  the  inde- 
fatigable Portales,  to  prepare  for  hostilities.  The  President  as- 
sumed extraordinary  poweis,  provided  for  in  the  constitution,  and 
troops  were  concentrated  at  Valparaiso,  the  whole  expedition 
being  placed  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Blanco  Encalada, 
while  that  of  the  land  forces  was  encharged  to  Colonel  Vidame, 
an  officer  who  had  a  high  reputation  for  gallantry  and  talents. 
In  addition  to  the  Chilian  army,  a  division  of  banished  Peruvi- 
ans, under  command  of  Grenerai  La  Fuente,  an  exile  from  that 
country,  who  it  was  intended  should  play  the  same  part,  to  a 
certaia  extent,  in  dissolving  the  Peru-Bolivian  Confederation, 
that  our  worthy  and  philanthropic  ancestors,  the  English,  have 
assigned  to  a  certain  black  boy,  whom  it  suits  their  purposes  to 
style  King  of  the  Mosqidtos^  in  these  attempts  to  obtain  territory 
in  Central  America.  Before  the  sailing  of  this  expedition  Chili 
met  with  a  loss  which  was  irreparable,  and  for  which  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  the  war  did  not  compensate.  This  misfortune 
was  attributable  to  the  treachery  of  the  commandant  of  the 
troops,  Vidame,  who,  after  the  forces  were  concentrated  at 
Valparaiso,  ungratefully  made  Portales  prisoner,  and  attacked 
Valparaiso,  when  he  was  beaten  off  by  Admiral  Blanco  and  his 
cousin  Vidame,  who  was  governor  of  the  city.  When  the  result 
of  the  attack  became  known,  Portales  and  his  secretary  were 
shot  by  the  step-son  of  the  mutineer.  Vidame  and  his  accom- 
plices fled  after  the  battle  was  lost,  but  were  afterwards  cap- 
tured, when  he  and  eleven  of  his  officers  were  shot,  an  act  of  retri- 
butive justice,  however,  which  was  a  poor  compensation  to  the 
country  for  the  loss  of  the  most  unflinching  patriot  which  Chili 
ims  produced,  and  to  whose  foresight  and  uncompromising  ex- 
ertions she  owes,  in  a  high  degree,  her  present  prosperity.  The 
land  forces,  to  the  number  of  three  thousand  men,  which  were 
now  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Aldunate,  sailed  for 


HISTORY  SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


103 


Islay,  and  took  possession  of  the  important  interior  city  of  Are- 
quipa,  the  second  in  Peru,  where  La  Puente  was  declared  Su- 
preme Chief  by  the  Chilians,  and  commenced  organizing  his 
government.  The  forces  of  the  Confederation  retired  before  the 
invading  army ;  but,  contrary  to  their  anticipations,  no  discon- 
tented Peruvians  joined  their  ranks.  The  success  of  the  cam- 
paign depending  essentially  upon  such  aid,  the  position,  of  the 
Chilians  soon  became  extremely  critical,  and  Santa  Cruz  was" 
concentrating  his  forces,  and  threatened  to  cut  off  their  com- 
munications with  the  sea  coast.  The  Protector  of  Peru  soon 
consummated  his  plans,  enclosing  the  Chilians  with  double  their 
force,  leaving  no  alternative  but  the  desperate  chances  of  a 
battle,  or  submission,  when  their  enemy,  with  a  clemency  which 
displayed  the  truth  of  his  previous  assertions  to  their  Plenipo- 
tentiary at  Callao,  offered  to  treat  for  the  evacuation  of  the 
Peruvian  territory  on  terms  the  most  liberal  and  honourable  to 
them.  As  the  Chilian  forces  were  accompanied  by  a  Plenipo- 
tentiary, a  treaty  was  effected,  which  is  known  in  the  history  of 
South  American  diplomacy  as  "  that  of  Paucarpata,  after  which 
the  kindest  hospitalities  were  extended  to  the  invaders  until  they 
had  embarked  for  home.  Upon  the  return  of  the  expedition, 
general  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  by  the  government  ^nd 
the  people,  who  considered  the  convention  as  disgraceful.  Blanco 
was  deprived  of  his  command,  and  a  court-martial  ordered  ;  the 
treaty  disavowed  ;  and  another  army  of  six  thousand  men  pre- 
pared to  embark,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Greneral 
Bulnes,  a  youDg  and  dashing  officer,  a  nephew  of  the  President, 
who  had  acquired  a  reputation  by  a  successful  campaign  against 
the  Araucanians.  This  expedition  was  accompanied  not  only  by 
La  Puente  but  by  Gamarra,  an  ex-president,  who  had  attempted 
an  unsuccessful  revolution  against  Obejoso,  and  who  it  was  believed 
would  be  better  received  by  the  Peruvians  than  was  La  Puente 
upon  the  former  occasion.  The  policy  of  Chili  in  thus  forcing 
a  neighbouring  state  into  a  war,  and  then  attempting  to  intro- 
duce dissensions  among  them  by  aiding  with  their  troops  these 


104 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


revolutionary  chiefs,  is  inexcusable  ;  and  the  morbid  sympathy 
lately  expressed,  covertly  by  the  government  and  openly  by  the 
people,  for  their  Mexican  brethren  during  their  contest  with  the 
United  States,  and  their  dissatisfaction  expressed  towards  the  latter 
country,  comes  with  a  very  bad  grace  from  a  people  whose  his- 
tory contains  such  episodes  as  that  which  I  have  just  sketched. 
The  explanation,  however,  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  war 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  was  a  war  of  races,  and 
that  the  Spanish  xlmericans,  whose  quarrels  resemble  those  of  a 
man  and  wife,  fight  among  themselves  like  the  famous  "  Kilkenny 
Cats,"  but  are  immediately  roused  in  a  general  crusade  should 
a  nation  not  boasting  peninsular  origin  find  it  necessary  to  casti- 
gate any  one  of  them.  This  feeling  has  upon  more  occasions 
than  one  developed  itself,  and  quite  recently  it  produced  much 
commotion  in  the  Spanish  American  states,  when  it  was 
rumoured  that  French  and  Irish  emigrants  would  assist  Flores 
in  making  himself  President  of  Equador  ;  while  none  of  these 
governments  find  cause  for  reclamation  in  the  fact  that  the  most 
excellent  government  of  Buenos  Ayres,  with  which  they  have  the 
most  friendly  relations,  has  been  since  1S41  attempting  by  force 
of  arms  and  diplomacy  to  foist  upon  the  Montevideans  a  Presi- 
dent whom  they  expelled  in  1S37,  and  whose  legal  term  of  elec- 
tion has  long  since  expired.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  Chilian 
Expedition  at  Lima,  where  they  intended  to  disembark  upon  the 
occasion,  Obejoso,  with  a  want  of  faith  which  so  frequently  char- 
acterizes the  prominent  men  in  this  hero-ridden  continent,  de- 
clared against  his  friend  and  ally,  Santa  Cruz,  and  pronounced 
the  Confederation  dissolved,  in  which  movement  he  was  assisted 
by  General  Nieto.  He,  however,  refused  to  act  in  conjunction 
with  the  Chilians,  whom  he  informed  they  must  seek  elsewhere 
for  Santa  Cruz,  and  organized  his  forces  to  observe  their  move- 
ments. Bulnes  disembarked  his  troops  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
famous  Callao  castles  and  encamped  on  the  plain  near  Lima. 
The  next  morning  Obejoso,  observing  a  movement  among  the 
Chilians  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  prelude  to  an  attack  upon 


HISTORY  SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


105 


the  capital,  determined  to  take  the  initiative,  marching  out  to 
give  battle,  and  ordering  Nieto  to  follow.  This  General  imita- 
ting the  recent  treachery  of  his  chief,  held  back  with  the  troops 
under  his  command,  which  defection  led  to  the  total  defeat  of  the 
President,  and  the  capture  of  Lima.  Obejoso  secreted  himself 
in  the  city,  and  afterwards  escaped  to  the  castles  of  Callao  ;  but 
finding  that  he  would,  by  remaining,  fall  into  the  hands  of  Santa 
Cruz,  embarked  for  Guayaquil,  thus  terminating,  at  least  for  the 
time,  his  political  career.  Nieto,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  de- 
feated rebels  in  South  America,  obtained  protection  on  board  a 
foreign  man-of-war. 

The  day  after  the  entrance  of  the  successful  Chilians,  Ga- 
marra,  their  ready-made  President,  was  put  at  the  head  of  the 
Government,  where  he  remained,  however,  but  a  short  time,  as 
Santa  Cruz,  then  in  Bolivia,  hearing  of  the  state  of  affairs  in 
Lima,  collected  Lis  forces,  and  after  effecting  a  junction  with 
three  thousand  troops,  under  command  of  General  Moran,  the 
Murat  of  Peru,  entered  Lima  on  the  day  after  it  had  been 
evacuated  by  the  Chilians.  B nines,  upon  the  approach  of  Santa 
Cruz,  embarked  his  troops,  and  landed  again  in  the  department 
of  Truxillo,  where  they  were  pursued  by  the  enemy,  and  over- 
taken near  Huara. 

Santa  Cruz,  having  encamped  in  a  strong  position,  intended  to 
give  battle  as  soon  as  his  troops  had  rested  after  their  unwonted 
exertion  ;  and  aware  that  the  enemy  were  in  much  distress,  he 
had  no  doubt  of  defeatino;  them  with  ease,  althouo-h  the  numerical 
difference  in  force  was  very  small,  each  army  numbering  some- 
thing more  than  four  thousand  men.  He  did  not,  however,  count 
upon  the  desperation  of  the  Chilians,  nor  treachery  which  was 
busy  in  his  ranks  ;  and  before  he  had  made  his  dispositions  for 
battle,  he  was  himself  attacked  in  his  trenches.  The  battle  of 
Yungai,  which  ensued  on  March  20th,  1839,  was  one  of  the 
most  desperate  ever  fought  in  South  America,  lasting  six  and 
a  half  hours,  terminating  in  the  utter  defeat  of  Santa  Cruz,  and 
dissolution  of  the  Confederation.    It  was,  however,  by  no  means 


106  CHILI  AND   THE  x\RGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


a  bloodless  victory  for  tlie  Chilians,  as  they  lost  fifteen  hundred 
killed,  while  the  loss  of  the  Pern-Bolivians  amounted  to  two 
thousand  men.  The  army  of  Santa  Cruz  was  completely  anni- 
hilated ;  two  generals  were  killed,  and  three  made  prisoners, 
while  he  barely  escaped  with  his  life,  accompanied  by  some 
twenty  soldiers.  At  Lima  he  was  joined  by  Moran,  whom  he 
placed  in  command  of  the  castles  of  Callao,  with  orders  to  hold 
them  four  months,  when  he  would  bring  relief,  and  reinstate 
himself  in  authority.  He  directed  his  course  to  Arequipa,  where 
he  was  most  popular;  but  while  on  his  way,  news  was  first 
received  of  a  revolution  and  his  own  deposition  in  Bolivia ;  and 
next,  that  Arequipa  had  also  deserted  him.  His  life  he  saved 
with  difficulty,  as  all  men  turned  against  the  unfortunate  chief- 
tain, who,  accompanied  only  by  three  or  four  faithful  followers, 
among  whom  was  Gren.  Miller,  at  this  time  H.  B.  M.  Consul- 
general  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  he  escaped  to  Islay,  where  he 
had  just  time,  by  embarking  in  an  English  vessel  of  war,  to  save 
himself  from  capture  by  a  body  of  cavalry  which  had  pursued 
him.  Thus  for  the  time  terminated  the  political  career  of  Gen. 
Santa  Cruz,  one  of  the  most  liberal-minded  and  honourable  of 
the  chiefs  who  have  igured  in  South  America,  and  a  man  more 
calculated  than  any  other  to  elevate  his  country  to  the  exalted 
position  which  it  might  hold  among  nations.  In  his  whole  career, 
political  and  military,  I  can  find  no  stigma  attached  to  his  name — 
no  treacherous,  desertion  of  a  leader  or  a  faction  for  his  own 
elevation — no  cruelty  to  his  enemies — no  faithlessness  to  his 
friends,  nor  bad  conduct  as  a  military  leader.  His  misfortunes 
were  due  to  his  trust  in  the  good  faith  of  others  ;  for  had  he 
crushed  the_  Chilian  army  under  Aldunate,  it  would  not  have 
returned  augmented  in  numbers  to  attack  him  when  unprepared  ; 
and  had  he  retained  the  Bolivian  army  in  Peru,  neither  the  de- 
fection of  Obejoso,  nor  the  revolt  of  Baldivian  (the  general  who 
pronounced  against  him  in  Bolivia  during  his  absence),  would 
have  occurred.  The  small  remnant  of  officers  who  remained 
laithful  to  him,  including  Miller,  Moran,  Garcia  del  Rio,  and 


HISTORY  SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


107 


Cardeno,  is  a  striking  commentary  upon  tbe  dependence  to  be 
placed  upon  South  American  faith  and  gratitude. 

In  1836,  the  Peruvian  Assembly  had  declared  him  Supreme 
Protector  for  life  ;  the  invincible  pacificator  of  Peru  decreed  an 
equestrian  statue  on  the  field  of  Socabaya,  ^30,000  per  annum 
as  a  salary,  and  that  his  portrait  should  be  suspended  in  all 
public  offices,  including  the  halls  of  Congress.  In  1839,  he,  with 
three  faithful  friends,  was  fleeing  from  his  enemies,  and  every 
man  was  his  enemy  ;  and  life  was  only  assured  when  he  was  no 
longer  within  the  limits  of  his  Supreme  Protectorate,  and  when 
he  sought  the  asylum  afforded  by  a  foreign  man-of-war.  These 
are  the  people  whose  glorious  efforts  for  liberty  we  are  expected 
to  admire.  I  am  a  republican  by  birth  and  from  conviction,  but 
rather  than  see  my  own  country  resemble  these  vacillating,  cruel, 
and  ungrateful  communities,  which  we  are  expected  to  recognize 
as  our  sister  institutions,  I  would  a  thousand  times  welcome  a 
despotism.  Despots  persecute  the  few,  democracies  the  many. 
Despotisms  may  corrupt  the  morals  of  a  few,  but  when  demo- 
cracy runs  riot,  as  it  has  done  in  many  South  American  States, 
it  spreads  its  blighting  influence  over  all  classes.  It  is  always 
said,  speaking  of  the  disturbed  state  of  those  countries,  that  they 
are  not  true  republics,  but  military  despotisms,  and  that  armies 
have  no  right  to  deliberate.  Of  what  do  the  armies  consist  but 
of  the  wavering,  changeable  people,  with  arms  and  uniforms, 
and  influenced  by  the  specious  arguments  of  every  demagogue, 
civil  or  military  !  An  army  ceases  to  be  such  when  it  assumes 
a  right  to  dehberate.  It  is  then,  in  different  degrees,  according 
to  the  extent  to  which  its  pretensions  are  carried,  either  the  peo- 
ple or  the  mob  in  uniform.  While  touching,  however,  upon  the 
destiny  of  Santa  Cruz,  I  may  allude  to  the  fate  of  his  rivals, 
and  the  traitors  who  betrayed  him.  Valasco  was  declared  presi- 
dent at  his  deposition,  by  the  military  pronunciamento  of  Baldi- 
vian  during  his  absence  from  Boliva.  Afterwards  another  revo- 
lution placed  Baldivian  in  the  presidential  chair  ;  and  in  1847, 
just  before  my  own  arrival  in  Valparaiso,  he  arrived  in  Chili  a 


108         CHILI   AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


fugitive,  having  been  driven  out  to  make  room  for  the  same 
Valasco  whom  he  had  deposed.  Thus  it  is  with  South  American 
revolutions ;  and  thus  it  is  that  the  natural  mode  of  government 
is  brought  into  contempt  among  nations.  Santa  Cruz  was  a  far- 
sighted  man ;  he  wished  to  establish  a  government  so  strong  that 
the  pronunciamento  of  the  colonel  of  a  regiment  in  some  remote 
point  in  the  republic  might  not  affect  its  stability,  as  had  been 
hitherto  the  case  ;  and  his  commercial  views  were  so  extended, 
that  he  saw  no  necessity  for  the  citizens  of  Peru  first  paying  a 
transit  duty  on  merchandize  in  Valparaiso  before  it  reached  their 
ports.  He  wished,  also,  to  open  a  free  commerce  with  foreign- 
ers, as  an  important  element  of  prosperity  to  the  nation  over 
which  circumstances  called  him  to  preside.  This  was  the  true 
cause  of  the  hostility  of  Chili.  For  the  time  they  were  success- 
ful, and  by  destroying  the  Confederation  they  retained  much  of 
the  commerce  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  in  their  own  hands  ;  but 
circumstances  which  their  limited  though  well-organized  forces 
could  not  control,  gave  to  the  United  States  a  good  port  in  Cali- 
fornia ;  and  almost  at  the  same  time,  by  the  discovery  of  a  gold 
region  in  their  territory,  gave  a  powerful  incentive  to  emigration, 
by  which  the  time  has  been  much  hastened  when  Chili  will  be  no 
longer  an  "  entrepot"  for  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific.  Such 
were  the  objects  of  Chili  in  their  successful  war,  and  such  the 
fate  of  the  Supreme  Protector,  who  was  thus  forced  to  abandon 
South  America.  His  more  recent  history  has  been  recorded, 
whether  truly  or  falsely  I  cannot  say,  in  the  journals  of  the  day, 
in  connection  with  the  projected  expedition  of  Flores  ;  but  of 
one  thing  I  am  well  assured,  that  no  chief  who  has  hitherto 
figured  in  Peru  or  Bolivia,  is  so  well  calculated  to  ensure  their 
prosperity  as  Gren.  Santa  Cruz.  After  the  battle  of  Yungai, 
where  the  Chilians  are  accused  of  having  shown  great  cruelty  to 
the  w^ounded,  whom  they  slaughtered  indiscriminately  during  the 
rout,  Bulnes  returned  by  sea  to  Callao  where,  before  re- 
embarking  for  Chili,  he  not  only  imposed  upon  the  Peruvians  the 
President  Gamarra,  but  a  Constitution,  after  which  he  retired, 


HISTORY'  SINCE  REVOLUTION. 


109 


tind  was  soon  after  elected  President  of  Chili — an  office  whicli 
he  still  holds.  As  Gamarra  has  figured  as  a  Chilian  or  their  coad- 
jutor in  the  preceding  sketch,  it  may  not  be  considered  inappro- 
priate to  follow  his  history  to  its  speedy  termination.  In  1840, 
Bolivia,  now  having  lost  her  master-spirit  in  Santa  Cruz,  became 
the  prey  of  rival  factions  contending  for  the  presidency,  when 
Oamarra  was  requested  to  settle  the  dispute  with  an  armed  force. 
Arriving  in  Bolivia  the  two  parties  united,  and  attacking  him  at 
a  disadvantage,  he  was  completely  defeated.  In  his  flight  from 
the  field  he  was  killed,  and  had  not  Chili  mediated,  Bolivia  in 
turn  would  have  invaded  Peru.  Thus  terminates  the  wars  of 
Chili  with  the  Peru-Bolivian  Confederation,  and  with  it  termi- 
nates Chilian  history,  as  since  this  period  she  may  be  said  to 
have  been  progressing  rapidly  in  prosperity.  Happy  is  the 
country  which  has  no  history."  He  who  destroyed  the  spirit  of 
military  insurrection  in  Chili,  Diego  Portales,  the  statesman  and 
patriot,  is  dead,  but  his  work  lives  after  him,  and  to  his  combi- 
nations is  due  the  prosperity  which  Chili  has  enjoyed  since  his 
first  appearan<?e  in  her  administration.  Bulnes,  the  successful 
general,  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  President  of  the  Re- 
public. O'Higgins  died  in  voluntary  exile.  Santa  Cruz  is  an 
exile,  and  the  General  Freire,  who  succeeded  O'Higgins,  and 
attempted  from  Peru  a  revolution  in  Chili  against  the  authority 
of  the  constitutional  President,  is  now  living  quietly  in  Santiago, 
although  it  is  supposed  by  some  persons  that  he  would  be  willing 
to  relieve  the  monotony  of  his  life  by  another  attempt  to  place 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  government,  were  its  strength  not  too 
great,  and  the  chance  of  Executive  clemency  which  he  experi- 
enced during  the  presidency  of  Prieto,  too  small  in  that  of  his 
prompt  and  decisive  nephew. 

Whether  or  not  so  long  an  episode  in  a  work  which  professes 
to  be  a  narrative  of  a  journey,  may  not  be  justly  considered  ill- 
placed,  is  a  question  which  I  leave  the  reader  to  decide  for  him- 
self.   It  has  been,  and  is  my  own  opinion,  that  a  sketch  of  the 


110 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCEK- 


listory  of  the  most  prosperous  of  Spanish  American  Republies^y 
cannot  but  possess  some  interest  to  Americang^,  especially  when^ 
brought  into  a  condeBsed  f©rm  tmm  t&e  epoch  of  the  @onqueg4 
to  the  present  tim^^^ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

GEOGRAPHY  GOVERNMENT  DEPARTMENTS  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS3 

FINANCE,   AND  INTERIOR. 

The  geographical  position  of  Chili  is  easily  appreciated  by  a 
single  glance  at  the  map  of  South  America.  It  is  a  long  and 
narrow  strip  of  land,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Pacific,  which 
bathes  its  shores  during  its  whole  extent  ;  on  the  north,  by  the 
impassible  desert  of  Atacama  ;  on  the  east,  by  difficult,  at  some 
seasons,  impassable  Cordillera  ;  and  on  the  south,  by  the  territory 
of  the  unconquered  Araucanians.  To  these  natural  boundaries, 
which  have  prevented  the  Chilian  population  from  disseminating 
itself  over  too  wide  a  field,  the  country  owes  its  high  state 
of  cultivation  and  much  of  its  prosperity.  The  whole  length 
of  Chili  is  about  eighteen  hundred  miles  ;  and  its  breadth,  which, 
however,  varies  greatly  as  the  Cordillera  advances  to,  or  recedes 
from  the  coast,  is  about  two  hundred  miles.  Independent  of| 
their  continental  territory,  the  Chilians  also  possess  the  far-famed 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez  and  the  Archipelago  of  Chiloe^  con- 
taining sixty-four  islands  ;  all,  however,  except  Chiloe  proper, 
insignificant  in  extent  and  sparsely  populated.  Recently  the 
government  has  attempted  to  extend  its  possessions,  by  establish- 
ing a  colony  on  the  north  side  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan  ;  but  as 
yet  it  has  proved  only  a  source  of  expense,  and  has  led  morever 
to  a  reclamation  from  the  Argentine  government,  which  also 
claims  that  territory.  The  continent  proper  is  divided  into  ten 
provinces,  which  are  each  governed  by  ^n  Intendant,  who  is 


112         CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


appointed  by  the  supreme  government.  The  provinces  them- 
selves are,  for  greater  convenience,  divided  into  departments,  the 
administration  of  which  is  en  charged  to  an  inferior  authority, 
who  is  styled  governor.  The  most  northern  of  these  provinces  is 
Atacama,  the  capital  of  which  is  Copiapo^  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant seaports.  The  great  wealth  of  this  province  consists  in  its 
minerals,  of  which  copper  is  the  most  important.  The  next  pro- 
vince in  order  is  CoquimhOy  of  which  Serena  is  the  capital,  which, 
independent  of  mineral  wealth,  produces  grain,  fruits,  and  liquors. 
The  port  of  this  province  is  Coquimho,  one  of  the  most  secure  in 
Chili.  The  next  province  is  Aconcagua^  extending  from 
Coquimho  to  the  hills  of  Chacahuco^  which  separate  it  from  San- 
tiago, On  the  east  it  is  bounded  by  the  Cordillera^  whence 
issue  numerous  streams,  which  make  this  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  productive  of  the  provinces.  Its  resources  are  principally 
agricultural ;  although  it  possesses  considerable  mineral  wealth. 
Its  capital  is  the  city  of  San  Felipe,  The  province  of  Valpa- 
raiso is  less  fertile  than  most  other  regions  in  Chili,  and  derives 
its  principal  importance  from  its  port,  which,  though  not  so  good 
as  either  Coquimho  or  Talcahuano^  has  become  the  commercial 
emporium  of  the  country.  It  must  not  be  understood,  however, 
that  this  province  is  sterile,  as  it  produces  grains  and  fruits  in 
considerable  quantities,  and  supplies  most  abundantly  the  mar- 
kets of  its  capital.  Santiago  is  extremely  fertile  and  well 
watered,  the  beautiful  valley  already  mentioned  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  Chilian  capital,  extending  nearly  through  its  whole 
extent.  Its  principal  wealth  consists  in  grains,  cattle,  and  fruits, 
although  metals  are  found  in  various  localities.  The  capital  of 
the  province  of  Colckaqua  is  San  Fernando ^  and  its  wealth 
principally  mineral  and  agricultural.  Marble  is  found  in  this 
province. 

Talca^  with  a  capital  of  the  same  name,  is  comparatively  a 
new  district,  but  is  rapidly  progressing  in  prosperity. 

Maule^  whose  capital  is  Cauquenes^  is  fertile,  producing  grains, 
fruits  and  minerals. "  At  the  capital  there  are  warm  springs. 


GEOGRAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


113 


which  are  much  resorted  to  by  invalids.  Temperature,  accord- 
ing to  Danvin^  varies  in  the  dijBTerent  springs  at  different  seasons, 
In  1835,  during  the  great  earthquake,  it  suddenly  fell  from  118^ 
to  92°  Fahr, 

Conception^  with  a  capital  of  the  same  name,  the  port  of  which 
is  Talcahuano^  is  an  extensive  district,  rich  in  timber,  useful  in 
the  arts,  grains,  cattle  and  wines,  which  latter  attain  an  excel- 
lence not  found  elsewhere  in  South  America.  There  is  also 
mineral  wealth  in  this  province  of  which  a  coal  bank  is  probably 
the  most  important, 

Valdivia^  the  most  southern  of  Chilian  provinces,  is  yet  almost 
in  a  state  of  nature,  and  inhabited  for  most  part  by  Indians.  It 
possesses  mineral  wealth  which  is  not  yet  developed.  Its  produc- 
tions are  cereal  grains  and  wood  for  construction,  the  latter 
having  been  thus  far  the  most  valuable  export.^ 

While  upon  the  subject  of  the  political  divisions  of  the  coun- 
try, it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  touch  upon  the  division  of 
land  and  the  condition  of  the  people  residing  in  the  country — the 
Guasos  or  peasantry.  Owing  to  the  large  grants  made  to  the 
followers  of  Valdivia  and  the  earlier  governors,  and  which  for  the 
most  part  remain  in  the  families  of  the  first  donataries,  the  land  iu 
the  cultivated  districts  is  almost  invariably  held  in  fee  simple  by 
large  landed  proprietors.  When  received  by  the  first  settlers, 
the  grant  of  land  was  almost  invariably  accompanied  by  an  encom- 
mienda  or  grant  of  a  certain  number  of  Indians,  who  were,  accord- 
ing to  the  Spanish  system  in  those  days,  obliged  to  labour  for 
their  proprietors.  As  the  Spanish  population  increased^  and  the 
mingling  of  the  people,  and  the  natural  effect  of  contact  with  a 
superior  race  had  thinned  the  Indians,  and  soon  after,  when, 
owing  to  the  exertions  of  certain  philanthropists,  which  the  in- 
terested proprietors  could  no  longer  oppose,  the  system  of  enco- 
mendas  was  abolished,  it  became  necessary  to  supply  labour  from 
another  source.  A  scanty  supply  of  negroes  measurably  filled 
up  this  deficiency  ;  but  as  slavery  was  also  abolished  by  Carrera, 
^  D.  F.  Lopez,  Historia  de  Chile, 


114  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCE!^. 


wbile  at  the  head  of  the  revolutionary  government  in  1811,  this 
source  of  labour  was  also  withdrawn  from  the  proprietors. 

Meanwhile,  even  before  the  abolition  of  Indian  servitude,  a 
new  class  of  men  were  rapidly  increasing  in  Chili — the  poor 
who  had  no  landed  possessions,  and  who  became  so  numerous  that 
employment  could  be  no  longer  found  in  the  cities  as  laborers,  or 
in  the  few  mechanic  arts  which  were  practised  in  Chili.  These 
persons  at  present  form  the  labouring  class,  under  a  system  quite 
closely  resembling  the  feudal,  as  the  landed  proprietors  give  to  a 
peasant  who  applies  to  him  for  permission  to  reside  on  his  estate, 
a  small  portion  of  land,  upon  which  he  erects  a  cottage,  and  by 
the  careful  cultivation  of  the  limited  field  which  has  been  given 
him,  supports  himself  and  family.  For  this  right  to  reside  on  the 
estate,  and  for  this  assignment  of  land,  he  is  obliged  to  render 
certain  services  to  the  proprietor,  differing  only  from  a  feudal 
tenure  in  the  fact  that  these  services  are  not  military,  but  agri- 
cultural and  pastoral.  The  Inquilino^  or  tenant,  must  assist  his 
master's  immediate  servants  in  driving  in  and  in  marking  cattle  (the 
Rodes)^  in  getting  in  and  threshing  the  harvest,  and,  in  short, 
any  of  the  more  important  services  of  an  estate,  which  require 
greater  force  than  that  ordinarily  employed.  As  the  limited  ex- 
tent of  cultivable  soil  assigned  by  the  land  owner  is  seldom  suffi- 
cient to  support  the  tenant  and  his  family,  he  is  at  liberty,  when 
not  required  by  the  proprietor,  to  ask  service  elsewhere,  which 
they  invariably  do,  as  the  Chilian  peasant  is  by  no  means  idle, 
and  in  pursuit  of  employment,  which  density  of  population  makes 
difficult  in  their  own  country,  finds  his  way  to  the  adjoining 
Argentine  Provinces,  where  they  are  employed  as  labourers  in 

^  I  often  had  occasion  to  remark  upon  the  limited  number  of  negroes  in 
Chili,  particularly  in  the  interior,  which  in  this  respect  contrasts  not  only 
with  Brazil,  but  Buenos  Ayres,  Monte  Video,  and  Peru.  Upon  inquiring  of  a 
very  intelligent  Chilian,  whose  exalted  official  position,  thorough  education 
and  experience  gave  him  a  good  opportunity  of  judging,  I  was  informed 
that  most  of  the  Chilian  negroes  who  had  been  freed  by  Carrera  enlisted  in 
the  army  of  St.  Martin,  and  were  left  by  him  in  Peru  and  Buenos  Ayres. 


CTOGKAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


115 


towns,  ©r  upon  grazing  and  otlier  farms.  So  numerous  are  the 
'Chilians  at  Mendoza  and  its  vicinity,  tha^t  any  labourer  is  called 
Ohilenoe  whether  ho  be  a  native  of  that  country  or  not.  The 
peasant  in  Chili,  of  course,  can  possess  but  little  education — the 
female  portion  ( Gnasitas )  still  less — yet  they  appear  happy, 
industrious,  and  are  very  polite  to  strangers.  As  might  be 
expected,  the  effect  of  this  feudal  system  is  to  make  them  subor- 
dinate and  very  respectful  to  all  whom  they  consider  their 
superiors  in  social  position  or  in  wealth.  All  such  they  address 
as  "  j9a#r(9?z,"  employer,  or  master,  and  while  in  their  presence, 
they  generally  stand  uncovered.  Su<3h  state  of  politesse,  among 
many  will  doubtless  be  considered  as  in  a  high  degree  derogatory 
to  the  dignity  of  human  nature  ;  as  the  predisposition  unfortu- 
nately among  those  who  are  influenced  by  the  arguments  of  the 
-demagogies,  is  to  consider  th^t  in  the  intercourse  between  the 
poor  and  rich,  the  ignorant  and  educated,  the  former  cannot 
uphold  their  dignity  as  free  and  enlightened  citizens,  save  by  a 
display  of  rudeness,  intended  for  assertion  of  eq^uality.  Yet 
these  same  sticklers  for  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  can,  as  we 
have  often  seen,  assume  the  most  abject  humility  when  their 
interest  dictates.  The  independence  which  they  preach,  there- 
fore, is  only  applicable  in  all  those  cases  in  whioh  they  require 
nothing  of  those  who  may  have  it  in  their  power  to  oblige  them, 
as  no  man  can  be  more  servile  than  the  flatterer  and  servant  of 
the  mob.*  In  my  opinion,  therefore,  the  respect  shown  by  the 
Chilian  peasant  to  those  whom  education,  or  wealth,  or  both,  have 
placed  above  him,  has  in  it  more  real  dignity  than  the  alternations 
of  servility,  as  occasion  offers  or  requires,  and  rudeness,  mistaken 
for  independence,  which  I  have  observed  in  some  other  countries. 
The  dwellings  of  the  peasantry  are  almost  invariably  to  be  found 
by  the  road  sides,  while  the  great  house  is  situated  in  the  centre 
of  the  estate,  an  arrangement  not  only  useful  to  the  peasant,  who 

"  Wherever  this  word  occurs  in  osr  writings,  it  intends  persons  without 
virtue  or  sense,  in  all  stations  ;  and  many  of  the  highest  rank  are  often  meant 
by  it." — Fieldlngh  History  of  a  Foundling,    Note  to  chap.  IX. 


116 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES'. 


Las  thus  an  opportunity  to  dispose  of  superfluous  fruits  or  vege- 
tables to  passing  travellers,  but  to  the  proprietor,  who  has  thus; 
a  barrier  against  depredators,  and  gives  many  estates  the  appear- 
ance of  a  village,  owing  to  the  number  of  tenants  who  are  located 
on  its  margin.  In  general  terms,  therefore,  the  rural  population 
may  be  d'ivided  into  land-owners  and  feudal  tenants^ — the  former 
giving  the  land,  and  the  latter  supplying  labour  required  at  cer- 
tain seasons,  as  a  compensation  for  this  favour. 

Government. — The  general  government  of  Chili  consists  of 
an  Executive,  elected  for  five  years,  eligible  for  a  second,  but  not 
a  third  term  unless  an  intermediate  term  has  meanwhile  transpired. 
His  duties  and  prerogatives  are  similar  to  those  of  our  own 
Executive,  and  to  assist  his  deliberations,  an  Executive  Council, 
consisting  of  the  Presidents  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Justice  and 
Court  of  Appeals,  the  Bishop  of  Santiago,  Apostolic  Vicar,  a 
General  of  Division,  Minister  of  Estanco,^  two  ex-Ministers,  two 
Judges,  and  a  Secretary  of  the  Council.  The  Ministers  of  the 
government  are  four:  Foreign  and  Interior  Affairs,  Justice, 
Religion,  and  Public  Instruction,  Treasury,  War  and  Marine. 
The  existing  President  is  I).  Manuel  Bulnis,  General  of  Division, 
who  entered  upon  his  second  term  on  September  18th,  1846. 

The  Legislature  consists  of  two  houses — the  Senate  and  House 
of  Deputies.  The  former  represent  the  provinces  in  the  ratio  of 
two  to  each  Continental  Province  ;  the  whole  number  is  conse- 
quently twenty.  Their  term  of  service  is  nine  years,  and  the 
mode  of  election  in  triple  lists,  which  are  renewed  every  three 
years.  During  the  first  two  terms,  seven  Senators  are  elected, 
and  in  the  third  term  six,  completing  the  number.  Senators  and 
Deputies  may  be  elected  indefinitely. 

The  House  of  Deputies  is  composed  of  members  elected  by « 
direct  suffrage,  one  for  every  twenty  thousand  souls.    In  the 
event  of  a  fraction  remaining,  not  less  than  half  or  ten  thousand, 

^  The  functionary  here  alluded  to,  presides  over  the  adnainistration  of  the 
monopolies  which  are  reserved  by  the  Government,  the  amount  of  which 
will  be  discussed  under  the  head  of  finance. 


GEOGRAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


117 


it  is  also  represented  by  a  Deputy.  The  term  of  service  is  three 
years,  and  the  last  elections  took  place  for  this  House,  alike  with 
the  Senate,  in  1846. 

Annual  expenses  for  salaries  and  contingents  for  the  two 
houses,  $7,75.2. 

The  Judicial  power  in  Chili  consists  of  two  Superior  Courts, 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Justice,  and  that  of  Appeals.  They  each 
consist  of  a  President,  five  IMinisters,  a  Fiscal,  two  Relatores^ 
and  a  Secretary. 

Foreign  Affairs.— Chili  is  at  present  at  peace,  and  is 
generally  in  amicable  relations  with  all  nations.  The  most  im- 
•portant  negotiations  on  foot  during  1848,  were  those  tending  to 
a  long  projected  meeting  of  Plenipotentiaries  of  South  American 
States,  to  determine  upon  a  confederation  between  them,  and 
establish  a  convention  for  purposes  of  commerce  and  navigation > 
Many  years  had  elapsed  since  the  American  Congress  at  which 
the  United  States  were  represented,  had  met  at  Panama^  and 
many  of  the  causes  which  made  it  desirable  at  that  time,  had 
been  removed  or  modified,  and  when,  owing  to  the  exertions  of 
the  States  bordering  on  the  Pacific,  it  was  finally  re-convened, 
only  five  Plenipotentiaries  appeared  in  Lima,  representing  the 
Republics  of  Chili,  Peru,  Bolivia,  Equador,  and  New-Grrenada. 

In  1848  the  Representatives  of  these  Republics  signed  a  treaty 
of  Confederation,  one  of  Navigation  and  Commerce,  as  well  as 
two  pacts  termed  Convention  of  Mails  and  Consular  Convention. 
The  ratifications,  which  were  subject  to  the  decisions  of  the  respec- 
tive Grovernments,  were  to  have  been  exchanged  in  Lima.in  August, 
1849.  As  might  be  anticipated,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
who  appeared  much  in  favour  of  such  Congress,  announced  to  the 
Chambers  in  his  Report  in  1848,  that  the  Government  intended 
recommending  to  the  Congress  certain  modifications  of  impor- 
tance in  the  existing  Conventions,  and  that  certain  others  should 
be  found,  the  attainment  of  which  he  did  not  consider  difiicult, 
but  as  each  State  wdll,  in  all  human  probability,  recommend  con- 
flicting modifications,  it  can  scarce  be  anticipated  that  any  stable 
6^- 


V 


118         CHILI  AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


or  useful  arrangement  can  be  effected.  In  truth,  it  strikes  me 
very  strongly  as  a  diplomatic  game,  in  which  five  governments 
arc  attempting  to  overreach  each  other  ;  and  as  of  course  they  can- 
not all  attain  their  ends,  they  will  not  ratify  the  convention,  and 
the  Cono-ress  of  Nations  at  Lima  will  terminate  like  the  famous 
congress  above  alluded  to  at  Panama.  The  objects  to  be  attained 
by  this  Congress,  as  announced  by  the  Chilian  Government  to  the 
Houses  in  1844,  is  the  preservation  of  exterior  and  interior 
peace,  the  amicable  solution  of  questions  which  might  arise 
among  the  confederate  states,  the  regulation  of  the  right  of  re- 
fuge and  asylum,  the  establishment  of  more  benign  principles  of 
international  jurisprudence,  the  better  enjoyment  of  aquatic  com- 
munications, the  police  of  the  frontiers,  security  and  promptness 
in  epistolary  correspondence,  and  the  reciprocal  protection  to  be 
conceded  to  citizens  of  the  respective  states.  The  Chilian  Secre- 
tary also  recommended  to  the  consideration  of  the  congress  of 
plenipotentiaries  such  mutual  favour  and  protection  of  their  rising 
commerce  as  might  be  compatible  with  existing  treaties  and  con- 
ventions with  other  nations.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  such 
a  pact  among  the  South  American  States,  if  it  could  be  agreed 
upon,  might  be  advantageous  to  all  not  only  in  a  commercial  view, 
but  on  account  of  the  mutual  strength  arising  from  such  alliance, 
which  could  not  but  tend  to  liberate  them  from  the  insulting  and 
offensive  encroachments  upon  their  sovereignty  which  is  not  un- 
frequently  practised  by  powerful  maritime  nations,  and  especially 
by  the  English.  Yet  notwithstanding  these  obvious  advantages, 
I  cannot  but  look  upon  the  attempt  as  a  pleasing  chimera,  whose 
realization  is  impossible,  and  am  indeed  surprised  that  the  five 
plenipotentiaries  should  ever  have  come  to  a  definite  conclusion 
on  any  of  the  points  which  were  discussed  in  the  Congress. 
Neighboring  states  are  almost  invariably  rivals,  and  contiguity  is 
by  no  means  equivalent  to  identity  of  interests,  and  the  confede- 
ration will  propably  be  shipwrecked  even  before  it  is  well  organ- 
ized ;  and  even  admitting  the  possibility  of  the  objects  in  view,  the 
disturbed  state  of  most  of  these  Kepublics  would  effectually  pre- 


GEOGARPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


119 


vent  a  continuance,  as  a  change  in  administration  due  to  revolu- 
tion in  any  one  of  them  might  be  the  means  of  breaking  up  their 
political  and  commercial  relations,  and  would  probably  lead  to 
hostilities.  The  unfortunate  fate  of  the  Peru  Bolivian  confede- 
ration ought  to  warn  all  these  states  of  the  great  difficulty  of  re- 
conciling conflicting  interests  between  nations.  The  Chilian 
government  has  also  attempted  unsuccessfully  to  establish  similar 
relations  with  other  South  American  states.  A  correspondence 
transpired  between  it  and  the  Brazilian  government  during  the 
year  1S48,  initiated  by  the  former  with  the  desire  of  entering  into 
some  definite  arrangement  by  which  the  commercial  relations 
might  be  placed  on  a  footing  more  advantageous  for  both  parties, 
and  that  for  this  purpose  Brazil  should  accredit  a  diplomatic 
agent,  who  should  be  authorized  by  his  government  to  treat  with 
that  of  Santiago.  The  imperial  government  declined,  but  has 
since  accredited  a  "  charge  des  affaires  "  to  Chili,  whose  minister 
of  foreign  relations  in  his  last  message  states  that  though  the 
government  is  unwilling  to  introduce  odious  distinctions,  it  is  not 
disposed  to  countenance  inequality  without  compensation  under 
the  outward  semblance  of  reciprocity  between  Chili  and  Brazil. 
In  short,  it  threatens  to  establish  upon  Brazilian  products  differen- 
tial duties  with  a  view  to  equalize  the  advantages  of  the  commerce 
between  the  two  countries.  That  such  inequality  exists  is  appa- 
rent from  the  report  of  the  Minister  of  Finance,  in  which  it  ap- 
pears that  the  value  of  the  produce  of  Brazil  introduced  into 
Chili  during  the  years  1845,  '46,  and  '47  was  |1, 179,505,  while 
the  exportations  during  the  same  years  from  Chili  to  Brazil 
amounted  to  no  more  than  $371,990.  The  products  of  Brazil  do 
not  meet  the  rivalry  in  the  Chilian  markets  that  Chilian  products 
do  in  their  own  ;  in  the  article  of  flour,  for  example,  the  principal 
agricultural  export,  Chili  has  at  the  same  time  to  compete  with 
the  flour  from  Europe  and  the  United  States,  each  of  whom  can 
afford  to  sell  cheaply,  as  the  cargo  is  little  more  than  ballast,  the 
profits  of  the  voyage  arising  from  the  return  cargo  of  coffee.  Of 
the  importations  made  from  Chili  into  Brazil  during  the  period 


120  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


above  alluded  to,  $59,000  were  in  ounces  of  gold,  which  is  not  to 
be  considered  as  affecting  the  balance  above  mentioned,  which  is 
in  favour  of  Brazil  to  the  amount  of  $807,515. 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  Chili  should  not  have  had 
its  troubles  with  its  captious  neighbor,  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion. Such  indeed  is  the  case,  as  the  latter  has  protested  against 
the  establishment  of  the  Magellan  colony,  on  the  ground  that 
the  territory  belongs  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  demanded  satisfaction 
for  an  invasion  of  the  province  of  Mendosa  by  an  Argentine 
chief,  named  Rodrigues.  This  person,  it  appears,  after  an  un- 
successful attempt  against  the  existing  authorities,  escaped  to 
Chili,  where  he  was  placed  under  surveillance  at  the  request  of 
the  authorities  of  Mendosa,  but  having  by  some  means  escaped^ 
returned  to  the  Argentine  territory,  where  he  was  defeated  and 
executed.  In  a  diplomatically  insulting  note  the  government  of 
the  Confederation  accused  that  of  Chili  of  bad  faith  and  conni- 
vance. 

There  still  exists  an  open  question  between  Chili  and  the 
United  States  relative  to  individual  claims,  but  the  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  "hopes  that  the  Cabinet  at  Washington  disem- 
barrassed from  the  urgent  attention  required  by  the  war  with  the 
Mexican  States  (whose  termination,  so  ardently  desired,  will  be 
without  doubt  a  motive  of  congratulation  to  the  Chambers,)  will 
turn  its  attention  to  the  discussions  pending  with  this  Hepublic. 
From  its  justice  and  wisdom,  we  ought  to  promise  ourselves  a 
satisfactory  result."  Even  the  compliment  to  our  justice  and 
wisdom  does  not  counterpoise  the  diplomatic  expression  of  dis- 
satisfaction at  our  war  with  the  Mexicans,  with  whom  the  Chilian 
people  have  sympathised  during  the  contest,  not  only  on  account 
of  tbe  ties  of  common  origin  which  bind  them  together,  but  from 
jealousy  to  the  United  States,  whose  commercial  rivalry  in  the 
Pacific  must  inevitably  decrease  their  importance.  Touching 
upon  this  feeling  I  may  also  allude  to  the  superior  popularity  of 
England  over  our  own  country  in  Chili,  as  it  presents  an  anomaly 
not  easily  reconciled  at  first  sight,  and  of  which  I  have  assured 


GEOGRAPHY,   GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


121 


myself  in  three  visits  to  tins  country.  In  the  course  of  a  voyage 
round  the  world  and  visits  paid  to  countries  in  Asia,  Africa,  and 
both  Americas,  not  to  mention  divers  islands  situated  in  various 
parts  of  different  oceans,  I  have  found  my  country  and  country- 
men invariably  respected  and  even  loved,  whereas  the  English, 
either  through  the  aggressive  policy  of  the  government  or  the 
hauteur  of  individuals,  have  managed  to  make  themselves  su- 
premely disliked  "  and  immeasurably  despised."  To  this  general 
rule  Chili  is  the  only  exception  which  has  yet  come  under  my 
notice.  It  is  true  England  has  never  had  occasion  to  commit 
acts  of  an  arbitrary  nature,  in  this  Republic,  as  has  been  the  case 
with  almost  every  nation  which  was  not  in  a  situation  to  resist  or 
resent,  yet  this  alone  cannot  account  for  the  anomaly  to  which  I 
allude.  The  only  explanation  which  I  can  make  is,  that  the 
English  mining  companies  with  immense  capitals  and  commercial 
houses,  which  are  numerous  in  Valj^araiso^  have  for  many  years 
controlled  the  commerce  and  exchange  of  Chili,  while  the  natives 
have  generally  been  their  debtors  for  merchandise  imported  from 
England  and  sold  to  them  on  credit.  Favors  rendered  and  credit 
given  alike  to  the  government,  whose  external  debt  is  in  England, 
may  thus  account  for  the  popularity  of  a  nation  the  forbearance 
or  justice  of  whose  government  and  social  deportment  of  whose 
citizens  certainly  could  never  have  secured  it.  To  the  naval  ad- 
venturers, of  whom  Lord  Cochrane  stands  first  in  rank  and 
achievements,  the  Chilians  have  owed  something,  although  not 
their  independence,  which  was  achieved  before  their  arrival,  but 
as  they  were  called  upon  to  pay  so  liberally,  especially  so  to  the 
distinguished  personage  already  named,  we  can  scarce  imagine 
that  English  popularity  should  owe  its  origin  to  this  source.  If 
it  does,  we  must  confess  that  "  like  causes  do  not  always  produce 
similar  effects,"  which  we  were  formerly  taught  to  believe  as  the 
acts  of  the  Marquis  of  Maranham^  (Lord  Cochrane.)  and  his 
naval  adventurers  in  Brazil,  and  the  Lord  High  Admiral  of 
Greece^  (Lord  Cochrane,)  certainly  did  not  elevate  the  character 
of  his  countrymen  in  either  of  these  countries.    Quite  the  con- 


12  2  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


trary,  especially  in  the  former,  where  some  of  his  achievements 
are  branded  as  piracies.  The  exterior  relations  of  Chili  with 
other  nations  do  not  possess  sufficient  interest  to  merit  a  detailed 
account.  In  every  quarter  they  are  amicable,  and  present  ap- 
pearances promise  alike  peace  abroad  and  freedom  from  revolution, 
which  before  the  period  of  Portalez  prevented  the  development 
of  its  resources  at  home.  The  office  of  Foreign  Relations,  with  a 
patriotism  and  sagacity  which  does  it  credit,  has  recently  availed 
itself  of  the  presence  of  their  diplomatic  and  consular  represen- 
tatives abroad  to  endeavor  to  introduce  improvements  into  the 
country  and  to  benefit  and  develop  their  commerce.  In  further- 
ance of  the  former  object,  a  proposition  was  made  to  the  Royal 
Gras  Company  in  London,  to  illuminate  the  Chilian  capital,  which 
offer  was  declined  on  the  ground  that  their  continental  operations 
had  been  unsatisfactory,  and  on  account  of  the  remoteness  of 
Chili,  but  hopes  were  entertained  that  their  propositions  in  the 
United  States  would  be  more  successful.  For  the  purpose  of  de- 
veloping their  commercial,  agricultural,  and  mining  resources,  the 
foreign  office  proposed  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  a  line  of 
steamers  to  ply  between  Europe  and  Chili,  by  way  of  the  Straits 
of  Magellan,  and  touching  at  Brazil.  Although  the  proposition 
was  not  accepted  in  Brazil,  hopes  are  entertained  that  it  has  met 
a  favorable  reception  in  France  and  Spain,  and  that  the  project 
which  would  be  doubtless  advantageous  to  Chili,  may  be  consum- 
mated when  quiet  is  once  more  restored  in  Europe.  In  conclud- 
ing this  brief  sketch  of  Chilian  foreign  relations,  we  cannot  for- 
bear expressing  our  favorable  opinion  of  the  sagacity,  patriotism, 
and  firmness  by  which  the  government  and  legislature  seem  alike 
actuated  in  their  intercourse  with  foreign  powers,  and  the  econ- 
omy and  strict  accountability  with  which  this,  as  well  as  the  other 
Chilian  departments  of  government  are  conducted. 

The  diplomatic  agents  by  which  the  Republic  was  represented 
in  September  1848,  were  a  plenipotentiary  in  Rome  and  one  in 
the  United  States.  A  Charge  des  Affaires,"  in  Paris.  A 
Consul  General  in  Mexico  and  Rio  de  Janiero.    Her  commercial 


GEOGRAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


123 


interests  are  encharged  to  twenty-six  consuls  and  three  vice-con- 
suls, residing  at  the  ports  with  which  her  vessels  and  citizens  have 
most  intercourse. 

Expense  of  this  department  during  the  year  1845,  amounted 
to  $68,371. 

The  diplomatic  representatives  of  foreign  nations  residing  near 
the  government  of  Chili,  consist  of  three  "  Charges  des  Affaires," 
representing  Spain,  United  States,  and  Peru,"^  and  four  Consuls 
Greneral,  representing  Sardinia,  Equador,  France,  and  England. 
In  addition  there  resides  in  various  ports  of  the  Repuhlic  seven- 
teen consuls  and  six  vice-consuls,  representing  the  interests  of  the 
principal  maritime  powers. 

FINANCE  AND  THE  INTERIOR. 

The  sources  of  revenue  in  Chili  are  land  tax,  tithes,  excise, 
articles  monopolized  by  the  government,  stamps,  licenses,  duties 
of  importation,  of  exportation,  toll  on  roads,  post-office,  and  auc- 
tion licences.  The  mint  during  some  years  is  profitable,  while  in 
others  it  is  an  outlay,  and  cannot  be  calculated  upon  as  a  certain 
source  of*revenue.  The  sum  total  of  the  public  revenue  derived 
from  these  various  sources  during  the  three  financial  years  pre- 
ceding my  visit  was  as  follows : 

1845,     -       -       -  '    -       -       -       -       -  $3,223,039 

1846,  -       -       -  3,623,918 

1847,   3,714,078 

The  amount  produced  by  each  source  of  revenue  during  the 
three  years  above  specified  will  be  seen  by  glancing  the  eye  over 
the  table  subjoined,  which  displays  the  gradual  but  steady  in- 
crease of  revenue  from  almost  all  the  sources  specified : 

*  Since  publication  of  above  Ust,  a  Brazilian  Charge  has  been  accredited 
to  Chili,  while  the  United  States  have  raised  their  legation  to  a  full  mission- 


124  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Custom  Houses,  including  duties  on  Exports  and  Imports, 


1845. 

1846. 

1847. 

ijpi,  /  Do.  /  oy 

<StQ  OQO  ^09 

4]P/C,iUO,»J  /  O 

iVionopoiies, 

000,000 

Dyy,otj^ 

•701  "^zlQ 

TitViPC 
Jl  ILllcb, 

o  /o,ouy 

Ann  QfiQ 
4U  /,oOo 

^oo,  /o  / 

/c),U  /o 

//C,00  J 

•71  '^/l  O 

ExcisG, 

1  no  1  n'^ 

1  00  "700 

/  yy 

Licences, 

38,594 

38,510 

40,865 

Stamps, 

54,725 

58,273 

58,171 

Mint, 

23,959 

Post  Office, 

46,256 

47,036 

48,971 

Tolls  on  Roads, 

39,509j 

41,048 

37,349 

Auctions, 

6,100 

6,025 

6,078 

Other  sources  not  specified. 

31,225 

37,249 

50,101 

The  system  of  tithes  has  been  abolished  by  law,  and  the  de- 
ficiency in  the  revenue  supplied  by  an  additional  tax  upon  land, 
the  whole  impost  being  included  in  the  latter  tax.  The  government 
has  also  taken  measures  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  CajpellaniaSj 
or  rural  chapels,  which  are  numerous,  with  the  intention  of  im- 
posing a  tax  upon  the  land  pertaining  to  them  in  common  with 
all  others  in  the  Eepublic,  a  plan  in  which  the  government  an- 
nounces its  intention  of  persisitng,  notwithstanding  the  opposition 
which  the  measure  has  met.  The  stamp  duties  are  upon  legal 
papers,  ships'  manifests,  passports,  &c.,  and  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  preceding  table,  is  quite  productive  as  a  source  of  revenue. 
The  stamps  are  not  sold  directly  by  the  government,  but  are  pur- 
chased in  the  shops  of  the  various  towns  and  villages.  There  are 
seven  classes  of  stamps,  ranging  in  value  from  one  real  (12|  cents,) 
to  $16.  The  most  productive  are  the  stamps  for  two  reals.  I 
am  not  informed  upon  the  subject  of  the  monopolized  articles  ; 
tobacco,  however,  is  one  of  the  most  important.  As  appropri- 
ations are  made  without  reference  to  the  income  during  the 
financial  year  for  which  they  are  intended,  it  sometimes  occurs 
that  it  is  insufficient  to  meet  the  annual  expences.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  deficiency  is  supplied  by  the  savings  from  previous 
years,  as  the  public  expenditures  are  almost  invariably  less  than 
the  revenue. 


GEOGRAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


125 


The  foreign  debt  remaining  in  1848,  which  was  for  most  part 
due  in  England,  was  one  million  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
thousand  pounds  sterling.  The  interior  debt  at  the  same  time, 
which  paid  three  per  cent,  interest,  was  ^1,745,950.  Both 
these  debts  are  being  extiuguished,  and  should  no  foreign  war  in- 
crease the  expenses  of  the  government,  Chili  will  in  a  few  years 
be  free  from  national  debt.  As  the  exchange  in  Europe  owing  to 
the  state  of  the  balance  in  trade  is  against  Ghili,  the  government 
has  proposed  through  their  ministers  in  France  and  England  to 
encharge  themselves  with  the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  their 
respective  squadrons,  receiving  in  return  bills  of  exchange,  by 
which  the  debt  or  its  interest  may  be  remitted.  As  this  will  pro- 
bably be  advantageous  only  to  Chili,  it  is  not  probable  that  the 
proposition  will  be  accepted,  but  I  mention  it  as  an  evidence  of 
the  principles  of  strict  economy  by  which  the  administration  is 
governed. 

The  government  is  urgent  in  its  recommendations  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  bank  which  may  ^'  satisfy  the  want  so  generally 
felt  for  institutions  of  credit."  Their  diplomatic  representatives 
in  Washington  and  Paris  have  been  directed  to  enter  into  some 
arrangements  with  capitalists  for  the  establishment  of  an  institu- 
tion of  this  kind  in  Chili.  The  Minister  of  Finance  in  his  annual 
report  to  the  Chambers  in  1848,  states  that  considering  credit  as 
the  most  valuable  of  national  properties,  he  would  not  have  hesi- 
tated in  founding  a  bank  on  account  of  the  government  but  for 
the  opposition  which  he  was  aware  the  proposition  would  meet 
from  many  distinguished  citizens,  and  the  danger  which  the  insti- 
tution would  encounter  from  the  inexperience  of  those  who  alone 
could  be  appointed  to  manage  it.  The  experience  and  practical 
knowledge  to  be  acquired  by  a  private  bank  would  be  desirable 
before  attempting  the  establishment  of  a  national  one.  The 
government,  alive  to  the  industrial  and  mining  interests  of  the 
country,  makes  several  recommendations  for  their  respective  de- 
velopment. The  industry  of  America,"  says  the  Minister  of 
Finance,    cannot  develop  and  thrive  by  itself  alone,  as  a  pla  nt 


126  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


does  not  prosper  which  rises  at  the  foot  of  another  which  absorbs 
all  the  sustenance  arising  from  the  earth."  On  the  principle 
above  stated,  protective  duties  ,  are  recommended  for  Chilian 
manufactures.  To  the  judicious  application  of  such  protection, 
says  the  minister  in  continuation,  the  United  States  owes  its  in- 
dustrial prosperity.  England,  as  well  as  Spain,  prohibited  her 
colonies  from  occupying  themselves  in  manufactures,  and  thus  it 
is  that  the  starting  point  of  fabric  indasti:y  in  the  American 
Union  coincides  with  the  commercial  restrictions  of  1803,  while 
it  increased  and  took  root  with  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
tariffs  of  1816,  1824,  and  1828.  Acting  upon  these  principles, 
the  government  recommend  an  exclusive  privilege  to  be  conceded 
to  the  manufacturers  of  certain  important  articles  for  the  term  of 
eight  years.  It  is  also  recommended  that  certain  important  arti- 
cles of  consumption  in  the  manufactures  above  mentioned  shall 
be  admitted  free  of  duty. 

For  the  development  of  the  mining  interests  certain  recom- 
mendations have  been  recently  made,  and  in  part  executed  by  the 
government.  Firstly.  That  mints  shall  he  secured  f  rom  vexatious 
suits  at  law^  which  it  ajpjpears  is  not  unfrequent  when  the  result  of 
their  labours  has  become  productive.  Secondly.  To  improve  the 
police  of  the  mines ^  ^c.  Thirdly.  To  improve  communications. 
Fourthly.  Improve  ports  and  construct  moles.  Fifthly.  To  faci- 
litate the  acquisition  of  necessary  articles  for  mining  purposes ^Sixx 
object  measurably  attained  by  permitting  native  and  foreign  ves- 
sels to  disembark  bricks,  coals,  iron,  &c.,  at  the  bye-ports  most 
convenient  to  the  scene  of  operations.  Sixthly.  To  augment  the 
number  of  vessels  for  exportation  of  minerals.  Seventhly.  To 
perfect  the  instruments  employed  in  working  the  mines.  It  is  also 
recommended  to  bestow  a  premium  for  the  introduction  of  Arte- 
sian wells,  and  the  use  of  cotton  gunpowder  in  the  working  of 
the  mines. 

The  agricultural  industry,  for  reasons  which  I  mentioned  in  the 
first  chapter,  is  precariously  and  unfortunately  situated,  as  each 
year  the  increase  of  the  crops,  and  the  want  of  markets,  .augment 


GEOGRAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c. 


127 


the  excess  and  diminisli  the  price,  while  the  difficulty  is  increased 
by  the  high  interest  on  money.    No  government  has  probably 
laboured  more  assiduously  than  the  Chilian  to  open  markets,  both 
by  fair  and  insidious  means,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  recent  his- 
tory of  the  country,  and  in  the  sketch  on  Foreign  Relations.  In 
a  comparison  of  the  state  of  agricultural  and  mining  interests, 
the  advantage  is  much  in  favour  of  the  latter,  as  the  metals 
always  meet  a  ready  market,  which  is  not  the  case  with  the 
former,  and  strange  to  say,  the  export  duty  is  least  on  the  most 
saleable  article,  which  cannot  well  suffer  from  competition.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  1848,  the  agricultural  products  become 
suddenly  in  demand,  and  much  flour  was  exported  to  California 
to  supply  an  immense  emigration  which  the  discovery  of  the  gold 
washings  brought  to  that  hitherto  unproductive  and  unconsuming 
territory.    This  demand,  however,  is  purely  ephemeral,  as  Cali^ 
fornia  and  Oregon  will  soon  supply  that  territory,  and  meanwhile 
Chili  will  have  to  compete  with  the  flour  from  Guaymas  in  Mex- 
ico, and  with  that  of  the  United  States.    The  manufacture  of 
oil  and  wine,  as  also  that  of  the  spirits  made  from  the  grape  in 
the  southern  provinces,  decays  daily,  says  the  minister,  before 
foreign  competition,  and  the  productive  duties  can  be  raised  no 
higher  without  affording  encouragement  to  contraband,  while 
hemp  is  only  cultivated  in  small  quantities  in  the  Province  of 
Quillota.    All  that  is  possible,  it  would  appear,  has  been  done  by 
the  government,  (except  in  diminishing,  or  entirely  removing 
export  duties.  Roads  have  been  constructed  and  repaired,  bridges 
built,  bye  ports  made  eligible  to  enable  the  farmer  to  embark  his 
products  without  the  expense  of  a  tedious  land  carriage,  a  treaty 
effected  with  Peru,  and  whalers  encouraged  to  visit  the  ports,  to 
consume  the  produce  of  the  country.  Amid  all  these  efforts  to  en- 
courage agriculture,  it  appears  somewhat  surprising  that  the 
export  duty  should  not  be  entirely  remitted  upon  products  of  the 
soil,  yet  when  the  closeness  of  relation  between  demand  and  sup- 
ply in  expences  of  the  government  and  revenue,  with  which  it  is 
met,  is  considered,  it  is  less  astonishing  that  the  government  do 


l28  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


not  dare  to  recommend  it.  When  a  revenue  is  small  and  nearly 
equalled  by  expences,  such  experiments  are  unsafe,  and  failing, 
might  ruin  the  standing  of  an  administration. 

The  attention  paid  by  Chili  to  her  internal  communications,  I 
cannot  but  consider  the  most  creditable  feature  in  her  administra- 
tion, and  highly  beneficial  for  all  classes  in  the  country,  especially 
agriculturists  in  the  interior.  In  the  Argentine  provinces  and 
the  Banda  Oriental,  nature  has  supplied  open  communications  in 
the  plains,  which  comprise  a  greater  portion  of  their  territories  ; 
but  as  far  as  regards  regularly  constructed  roads,  upon  which 
wheeled  vehicles  can  travel,  Chili  has  a  greater  extent  in  her 
limited  territory  than  there  are  in  all  the  Spanish  South  American 
States.  The  great  empire  of  Brazil  might  be  also  included,  in 
this  estimate,  as  like  most  of  her  neighbours  of  Spanish  origin,  she 
appears  satisfied  with  the  primeval  bridle  paths,  there  not  being 
in  the  whole  empire,  excluding  the  cities  and  their  immediate 
suburbs,  three  hundred  miles  of  carriage  road,  except  where  it 
has  been  provided  by  nature  in  the  form  of  plains  similar  to  those 
of  the  Argentine  Confederation  already  alluded  to.  The  pre- 
sence of  good  roads  is  now  considered  as  one  of  the  salient  evi- 
dences of  civilization,  and  in  this  respect  Chili  ranks  favourably. 
Yet  unwilling  as  I  am  to  detract  from  the  credit  given  to  a  nation 
almost  by  common  consent,  and  seek  abroad  for  the  origin  of  im- 
provements, a  course  of  reasoning  so  essentially  English,  I  must 
acknowledge  that  carriage  roads  in  this  country  owe  their  origin 
to  Ambrose  O'Higgins,  (an  Irishman)  already  favourably  men- 
tioned in  the  colonial  history  as  the  governor  who  succeeded  in 
1788.  Until  the  period  of  his  administration.  Chili,  like  other 
South  American  States,  possessed  only  bridle  paths,  and  the  agri- 
cultural products  were,  like  those  of  the  interior  of  Brazil,  nearly 
useless,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  or  impossibility  of  conveying 
them  to  market  or  to  the  sea  coast  for  exportation.  But 
although  we  cannot  in  view  of  historical  facts  and  analogical 
reasoning,  concede  to  Chilians  the  originality  of  their  invaluable 
communications,  yet  we  cannot  but  give  them  much  credit  for 


GEOGRAPHY,  GOVERNMENT,  &c.  '  129 


the  improvement  upon  the  customs  of  their  ancestors,  and  their 
perseverance  in  overcoming  great  natural  obstacles.  In  fine,  as 
may  be  inferred  from  the  above  sketch,  the  ministry  of  finance 
and  the  interior,  perfectly  alive  to  the  interests  of  its  country, 
has  availed  itself  of  every  opportunity  for  the  development  of  its 
resources  and  the  economical  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the 
nation. 

The  total  expence  of  the  department  of  finance  for  the  year 
1845,  which  I  suppose  may  be  assumed  as  the  average  annaal 
expenditure,  was  $734,923,  while  that  of  the  interior,  for  the 
same  period,  was  $347,710. 


CHAPTER  X. 

DEPARTMENTS  OF  JUSTICE,  RELIGION,  WAR  AND  MARtNE. 

The  Ministry  of  Justice  comprehends  also  that  of  Religion 
and  Public  Instruction,  in  neither  of  which  branches  of  the  ad- 
ministration are  to  be  found  information  possessing  more  than 
a  provincial  interest.  The  two  most  important  points  referred 
to  by  the  minister  in  his  annual  report  in  1846,  was  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  labours  of  a  commission  employed  in  compiliog 
a  new  criminal  code  ;  and  the  non-conformance  of  the  govern- 
ment to  a  decree  of  the  Congress  authorizing  the  establishment 
of  two  more  courts  of  appeal.  The  objections  which  it  urges  for 
not  having  established  these  two  tribunals,  was  the  additional 
expense  of  some  $40,000,  which  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
expend  more  advantageously,  and  the  extreme  probability  that 
their  establishment  would  augment  instead  of  diminishing  the 
evils  they  were  proposed  to  correct.  The  arguments  probably 
had  their  weight  with  the  Chambers,  as  neither  of  these  courts 
had  been  established  at  the  period  of  my  visit  in  1849.  The 
laws  which  restrict  the  liberty  of  the  press,  require,  says  the 
minister,  urgent  reform,  a^  the  publication  of  ideas  through  the 
medium  of  the  press,  while  it  is  a  powerful  means  of  aggrandize- 
ment and  enlightenment  to  which  civilized  nations  owe  many 
blessings,  may  be  converted  into  instruments  of  disorder  and  evil, 
more  especially  in  new  countries  just  founding  their  institutions, 
and  where  backwardness  in  civilization  makes  it  a  matter  of  little 
difficulty  to  blind  and  lead  men  into  error.    That  the  limitations 


> 


DEPAHTMENTS  OF  JUSTICE. 


mentioned  would  be  beneficial,  I  cannot  for  a  moment  doubty 
although  inclined  to  believe  that  the  central  and  neryous  govern-' 
ment  of  Chili  has  never  admitted  such  excesses  of  this  privilege^ 
as  has  been  perpetrated  with  so  much  impunity  in  her  sister,  the 
model  Republic^  and  in  Great  Britain. 

The  prison  system  in  Chili  is  imperfect,  but  improving,  not- 
withstanding the  difficulty  of  bringing  ignorant  subordinates  into 
the  views  of  the  enlightened  government,  for  according  to  the 
report  of  the  minister  in  184^,     To  eanstruct  prisons  in  that 
country  is  to  construct  large  halls  and  dungeons  where  the  great 
criminals  are  mingled  with  those  who  are  incarcerated  for  the  first 
time  and  for  a  slight  cause,  and  in  which  the  noviees  acquire 
I^nowledge  in  a  school  of  evil,  upon  which  to  practice  upon  a 
future  occasion."    To  obviate  the  defects  arising  from  this  sys- 
tem, the  government  has  announced  that  it  will  approve  of  no 
prison,  still  less  assist  in  its  construction,  in  which  the  system  of 
isolating  the  prisoners  is  not  provided  for.    One  prison  upon  this 
system  has  been  already  built,  while  two  others  are  in  the  process 
of  construction.     There  exists  a  House  of  Correction  at  the 
•  capital,  and  a  penitentiary  recently  established  on  the  system  of 
isolation,  adopted  from  the  United  States,  so  immeasurably  supe- 
rior to  the  former.    A  Spanish  prison  must  be  seen  in  order  to 
appreciate  its  horrors  and  the  truthfulness  of  the  minister's  state- 
ment relative  to  their  demoralizing  influence.    It  has,  however^ 
often  occurred  to  me  that  imprisonment  in  either  Chili  or  Peru 
must  possess  additional  horrors  to  the  prisoners  under  any  practi- 
cable system  which  might  be  proposed.    Doctor  Johnson  re- 
marked of  a  ship,  that  it  was  a  prison  without  its  security  from 
danger.    This  remark,  which  is  measurably  true  where  it  was 
made,  as  well  as  in  our  own  country,  is  by  no  means  the  case  in 
Chili,  where  the  frequency  of  earthquakes,  sometimes  terrific  in 
their  effects,  destroys  not  only  our  confidence  in  the  stability  of 
all  edifices,  but  in  that  of  the  earth's  crust  itself.    It  is  a  fact 
sufficiently  notorious  that  residents  of  a  country  where  earth- 
quakes are  frequent  become  more  timid  and  easily  terrified  than 


132  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


those  who  are  witnessing  the  phenomena  for  the  first  or  second 
time.  Having  in  view  this  fact,  and  that  upon  the  first  rumbling 
which  generally  announces  the  approach  of  an  earthquake,  every 
inhabitant  rushes  frantically  in  a  square,  street,  or  some  other 
open  space  to  save  himself  from  death  beneath  his  walls,  and 
that  many  fear  to  close  their  doors  when  asleep,  lest  they  may  not 
obtain  speedy  egress,  it  may  easily  be  imagined  the  horror  of  a 
man  at  finding  himself  shut  up  for  years  between  four  ponderous 
walls,  with  no  chance  of  escape  in  the  event  of  a  shock.  As 
severe  earthquakes  are  of  rare  occurrence  even  in  Chili,  their 
unfrequency  might  lead  a  prisoner  to  consider  it  a  danger  so  re- 
mote that  the  mind  would  soon  cease  to  dwell  upon  it,  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  it  is  almost  constantly  brought  before  him  by 
minor  shocks,  which  happen  frequently.  At  the  commencement 
of  every  shock,  and  even  during  its  continuance,  the  miserable 
criminal  would  not  be  assured  that  he  was  not  about  to  be 
crushed  and  buried  beneath  the  ruins  of  his  prison.  Successive 
minor  shocks  at  times  accompany  a  great  one,  such  as  utterly 
destroy  cities.  This  is  natural.  The  same  causes  being  in  action, 
may  easily  produce  in  a  greater  degree  what  we  actually  expe- 
rience in  a  less  ;  and  what  would  not  be  the  anxiety  of  a  prisoner 
during  such  a  period,  which  frequently  lasts  for  weeks.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  I  myself  witnessed  while  in  Santiago,  a  long  inter- 
val without  a  slight  shock  also  terrifies,  as  it  is  then  supposed 
that  the  next  one  will  be  unusually  violent.  And  thus  time  after 
time  will  an  unfortunate  endure  all  the  bitterness  of  death,  while 
the  continual  anxiety  at  all  times  must  prey  upon  his  health. 
Combined  with  the  absolute  solitary  and  silent  system,  the  mind 
must  give  way  and  madness  ensue,  especially  when  a  criminal  is 
condemned  for  a  long  term  ;  and  I  really  consider  that  the  addi- 
tional and  terrible  punishment  arising  from  a  constant  fear  of  an 
awful  death  in  confinement  ought  to  be  considered  in  finding  the 
sentence. 


RELIGION. 


135 


RELIGICN. 

Chili  has  an  archhiskop  residing  in  the  capital  and  several 
bishops. 

Convents  are  rare,  as  the  people  are  entirely  too  utilitarian 
and  practical  to  encourage  hives  of  drones  who  choose  to  dedi- 
cate themselves  to  religion  for  the  sole  benefit  of  their  own  souls, 
and  to  the  detriment  of  the  pockets  of  others.  Theological 
seminaries  are  encouraged,  as  there  is  said  to  be  a  deficiency  of 
priests  to  perform  the  duties  required  in  the  various  parishes.  A 
want  of  missionaries  is  also  felt  on  the  Araucanian  frontier, 
among  the  partially  civilized  tribes,  to  supply  which  a  proposition 
was  made  by  the  government  some  four  years  ago  to  the  Com- 
pany of  Jesus,  but  the  negotiation  was  broken  off,  because  the 
government  could  not  consent  to  their  conditions,  which  the 
minister  of  justice  declares  by  no  means  necessary  for  the  ful- 
filment of  the  objects  for  which  they  were  called.  A  succeeding 
attempt  was  made  to  obtain  missionaries  by  application  to  his 
Holiness  through  the  plenipotentiary  in  Rome,  the  success  of 
which  I  did  not  learn.  The  ill  success  of  the  Indian  missions  in 
^he  South  does  not  appear  to  have  discouraged  the  government, 
which  spares  no  efforts  within  its  reach  to  Christianize  and  civilize 
these  intractable  savages.  I  doubt,  however,  whether  the  mis- 
sionaries are  really  so  disinterested  as  the  government  itself  is, 
and  supposes  them  to  be,  and  believe  that  they  are  more  desirous 
of  personal  comfort,  than  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians. 
The  whole  number  of  missions  in  Valdivia,  (the  frontier  province) 
I  did  not  learn,  and  the  number  of  Indians  contained  in  what  is 
termed  a  Reduction,  ranges  from  two  and  three  hundred  to  two 
thousand.  As  the  Indians  cannot  be  made  to  live  in  towns  or 
villages,  another  system  of  teaching  is  adopted  in  bringing  them 
by  turns  into  the  mission,  where  the  amount  of  their  teaching  is 
prayers  by  rote,  and  confession.  The  proposed  converts,  male 
and  female,  who  are  kept  separate,  remain  until  some  old  native 
coadjutor  of  the  jpadre  has  taught  them  a  few  prayers,  and  dur- 
ing this  stay  they  receive  their  food  from  the  mission  for  which 


134 


CHILI  AND  THE  AUGENTINE  PROYINCES 


it  is  compensated  by  their  labour  during  their  stay.  The  Indians 
complain  that  they  are  frequently  retained  in  the  missions  far  a 
month  and  more,  and  of  other  acts  of  icjustice  on  the  part  of 
the  missionary,  which  complaints  the  Intendant  of  Valdivia,  who 
acted  as  government  visitor,  thinks  are  unfortunately  too  fre- 
quently well  founded.  This  official  appears  also  to  have  arrived 
at  a  conclusion  relative  to  the  Indians  which  is  much  in  accord- 
ance with  the  experience  of  all  other  parts  of  America,  viz., 
that  the  opposition  to  civilization  is  an  evil  inherent  to  the  race, 
and  that  the  progress  of  improvement  will  be  always  impercepti- 
ble until  the  race  is  mingled  with,  and  absorbed  by  others.  One, 
and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the  only  benefit  derived  from  these 
missions  was  the  recent  publication  of  an  Araucanian  dictionary 
and  grammar,  which  though  it  may  be  of  little  use  in  propagat- 
ing Christianity  and  civilization  cannot  but  be  interesting  to  the 
philologist. 

The  sole  rem.aining  and  most  important  branch  of.  this  min- 
istry, public  instruction,  appears  to  be  progressing  steadily,  if  not 
so  rapidly  as  might  be  desired.  Uniform  works  have  been  pub- 
lished by  the  government  and  sold  at  a  cheap  rate  throughout  the^ 
country.  Normal  schools  have  been  established,  and  young  men 
introduced  from  various  provinces  who  are  intended  as  teachers 
of  the  youth.  Independent  of  the  primary  instruction  in  the 
common  schools,  lyceums  have  also  been  established  in  various 
interior  cities  and  towns  in  which  the  course  of  Humanities  is  the 
same  that  has  been  established  in  the  National  Institute  of  Chili. 
The  capital  boasts  a  university  and  national  institute,  while  the 
cities  and  principal  towns  possess  their  colleges  or  high  schools. 
Education  is  very  generally  diffused  among  the  higher  classes. 
Among  the  lower,  especially  the  peasantry,  this  is  unfortunately 
not  the  case  as  yet,  although  the  enlightened  exertions  of  the 
government,  and  the  concentrated  state  in  which  the  rural 
population  generally  exists,  affords  a  prospect  of  great  improve- 
ment. 

The  University  at  Santiago  attempted  a  few  years  ago  to 


PUBLIC  EXPENSES. 


131 


modify  the  Spanish  language,  by  dropping  the  silent  letters. 
For  a  time  this  change  was  generally  adopted,  and  had  the  ap- 
probation of  the  government  and  press,  but  by  degrees  the 
Chilians  have  become  aware  of  the  fact  that  a  language  spoken 
by  some  sixty  millions  of  people  cannot  be  changed  at  once  by  a 
decree  of  an  academy,  or  that  the  example  of  a  remote  Repub- 
lic, insignificant  in  extent,  could  for  a  moment  influence  the 
dialect  of  the  mother  country.  This  system,  which  owes  its  ori- 
gin to  an  Argentine,  not  a  Chilian,  possesses  no  advantage  save 
the  omission  of  a  few  silent  letters,  while  confusion  cannot  but 
ensue,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  omissions  thus  practised  destroy 
distinctions  between  words  which  though  similarly  pronounced, 
are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  the  presence  of  this  silent 
letter  in  print.  Gradually  the  attempt  has  been  abandoned,  and 
I  have  noted  the  gradual  change  during  my  three  visits  in  1846, 
'48,  and  '49.  In  the  first  of  these  years  all  books,  newspapers, 
and  government  documents  were  printed  in  the  new  style,  while 
in  the  last  I  found  it  had  been  abandoned  by  the  government 
press,  and  all  save  a  few  enthusiasts.  The  absurdity  of  this 
attempt  to  legislate  down  a  language,  ought  to  have  prevented  its 
having  ever  been  encouraged,  as  it  really  was,  by  an  intelligent 
public  and  government. 

The  public  library,  which  is  increasing  every  year,  is  very  val- 
uable, and  contains  many  rare  books  and  manuscripts.  The 
number  of  volumes  I  did  not  learn,  but  believe  it  the  largest 
in  South  America,  except  those  of  Eio  de  Janeiro  and  of  Buenos 
Ayres. 

The  expense  of  the  Ministry  of  Justice,  Eeligion,  and  Public 
Instruction  in  1846,  amounted  to  $513,814,  which  I  think  some- 
what above  the  average  per  annum  expense,  owing  to  the  assis- 
tance given  by  the  government  to  the  building  and  repair  of  thir- 
teen churches,  some  prisons,  and  the  new  penitentiary.  Of  this 
sum  $198,206  was  devoted  to  the  Department  of  Justice,  $  179,517 
to  that  of  Religion,  and  $136,080  for  public  instruction. 


136  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


War  and  Marine^ — Natal  and  Mercantile. — Since  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  Prieto,  and  his  able  minister  Portales, 
the  army  of  Chili,  which  was  formerly  a  potent  instrument  of 
evil,  has  been  kept  within  moderate  limits  on  the  peace  establish- 
ment, an  object  easily  and  securely  attainable,  owing  to  the  geo- 
graphical situation  of  the  country,  which  is  bounded  by  barriers 
making  an  invasion  too  difficult  to  be  attempted  by  their  turbu- 
lent and  warlike  neighbours.  At  the  period  of  my  visit  it  con- 
sisted of  2991  men,  who  are  divided  among  the  three  arms  of 
infantry,  artillery,  and  cavalry,  in  the  following  proportions. 
Infantry,  three  battalions  of  the  line,  numbering  respectively 
three  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  three  hundred  and  eighty-four, 
three  hundred  and  ninety-five,  and  one  battalion  of  light  infantry 
numbering  three  hundred  and  ninety-six  men.  The  total  number 
of  artillery  is  three  hundred  and  ninety  men  forming  a  single 
corps.  The  cavalry  consists  of  two  regiments,  one.  chasseurs, 
numbering  three  hundred  and  thirty,  and  one  of  mounted  grena- 
diers of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  men.  There  appears  to  be  no 
organized  body  of  engineer  troops  or  military  artificers,  a  corps 
so  essential  to  the  operations  of  an  army,  and  so  difficult  of 
attainment  when  wanted  in  the  field. 

General  officers  are  more  numerous  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber of  troops,  and  of  a  higher  rank  than  are  found  elsewhere  on 
this  continent,  except  in  Brazil,  and  consist  of  two  captain-gene- 
rals, one  lieutenant-general,  six  generals  of  division  and  four 
brigadier-generals.  The  rank  and  number  would  certainly  appear 
disproportionate  to  the  regular  military  establishment,  but  it  is  to 
be  considered  that  these  are  the  officers  who  command  the  whole 
military  force  of  the  country  in  the  event  that  it  should  be  called 
upon  to  take  the  field,  and  that  a  high  rank  attainable  by  gal- 
lantry and  good  conduct,  is  the  m.ost  powerful  incentive  to  the 
officer,  and  one  which  every  sagacious  government  would  do  well 
to  hold  out  to  those  employed  in  its  military  establishments."^ 

*  As  much  eloquence  has  recently  been  w^asted  in  this  country  on  the 
other  side  of  the  question,  we  may  be  excused  for  quoting  the  opinions  of  the 


WAR  AND  MARINE. 


137 


Attached  to  the  Chilian  army  are  twenty-two  colonels,  forty- 
six  lieut. -colonels,  sixty-two  majors,  one  hundred  and  thirty 
captains,  twenty-three  adjutants,  ninety-two  lieutenants,  eighty- 
six  ensigns,  six  cornets,  three  surgeons,  and  four  chaplains. 
There  are  no  invalid  officers  borne  on. the  army-list,  and  but  four 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  rank  and  file. 

In  1847,  the  projected  expedition  of  Gen.  Flores  produc- 
ed no  small  alarm.  The  Spanish  American  republics  called  the 
attention  of  the  Chilian  government  to  the  state  of  defence  on 
the  sea-coast,  when  the  minister  of  war  reported  that  the  garrison 
artillery,  on  account  of  its  age,  as  well  as  owing  to  the  improve- 
ments in  modern  ordnance,  required  to  be  renewed  ;  and  an 
order  was  sent  to  France  for  a  certain  number  of  pieces  of 
heavy  calibre,  and  mounted  in  accordance  with  latest  improve- 
ments. 

In  addition  to  the  sea-coast  batteries  of  iron,  a  mountain  and 
field  battery  of  brass  were  also  ordered.  These  additions  to  the 
defensive  and  ofiensive  military  material,  gave  rise  to  no  ad- 
ditional expense,  as  the  old  brass  pieces  belonging  to  the  forts, 
which  were  no  longer  serviceable,  were,  with  the  sagacious 
economy  which  characterises  the  administration  of  the  public 
afiairs  of  this  enterprising  little  state,  exchanged  for  a  more 
serviceable  and  cheaper  material. 

MILITARY  ACADEMY. 

The  Chilian  Military  Academy  of  Santiago  is  under  the  super- 
intendence of  a  brigadier-general,  who  is  assisted  by  a  corps  of 
professors,  consisting  of  six  captains  and  a  chaplain.  The  organ- 
greatest  soldier-statesman,  whose  career  history  has  transmitted  to  us  : 
Voltaire  called  soldiers  Alexanders  at  five  sous  a  day.  He  was  right ; 
they  are  really  so.  Do  you  believe  that  you  would  ever  make  men  fight  by 
abstract  principles  ?  Never.  Such  views  are  fit  only  for  the  scholar  in  his 
study.  For  the  soldier,  as  for  all  men  in  active  life,  you  must  have  glory 
and  distinction  ;  recompenses  are  the  food  which  nourish  such  qualities.*' — 
Napoleon  to  the  Council  of  State  relative  to  the  establishment  of  a  Legion 
of  Honour  in  1801.    Alison^  vol.  xi.  p.  199. 


188  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


ization  is  purely  military,  and  much  time  appears  to  be  devoted 
to  practical  exercises  and  the  duty  of  the  soldier  in  garrison  and 
in  the  field.  The  students  are  divided  into  two  classes — a  sec- 
tion of  cadets  who  study  for  commissioned  officers,  and  a  section 
of  corporals  who  prepare  themselves  for  the  duties  of  non-com- 
missioned officeris.  The  number  of  cadets  at  the  establishment 
in  1848,  was  forty-five,  while  the  inferior  school  consisted  of 
thirty-six.  The  course  of  studies  for  the  two  sections  is  different. 
That  for  the  cadets  consists  of  religion,  practical  geometry,  de- 
scriptive geometry,  spherical  trigonometry,  right-angled  triojono- 
metry,  elementary  geometry,  algebra,  arithmetic,  geography, 
Spanish  grammar,  French  language,  tactics,  military  system  and 
regulations,  writing,  drawing,  gymnastics,  fencing  and  military 
exercises.  The  course  for  the  inferior  school,  which  is  more 
limited  and  appropriate  to  their  future  duties,  consists  of  religion, 
algebra,  arithmetic,  Spanish  grammar,  writing,  drawing,  gymnas- 
tics, fencing,  and  military  exercises. 

The  tabulated  report  of  the  professors,  presented  by  the  min- 
ister to  the  Congress,  speaks  very  favourably  for  the  proficiency 
of  the  students  of  both  sections.  The  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  a  school  of  non-commissioned  officers,  has  already  been  felt 
in  the  Chilian  army,  and  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated.  Were 
it  practicable  to  introduce  it  into  our  own,  its  advantages  would 
be  felt  immediately,  and  the  necessity  which  now  so  frequently 
exists  of  employing  foreigners  to  fill  these  positions  would  soon 
cease  to  exist. 

The  minister  of  war,  in  referring  to  this  establishment  in  his 
report  at  the  close  of  1848,  remarks,  "  I  will  not  pass  in  silence 
the  Military  Academy,  which,  for  so  many  reasons,  merits  the 
special  attention  of  the  legislature  and  the  government.  The 
rigidity  of  discipline  to  which  this  establishment  is  submitted  is 
notorious,  and  the  morality  and  respectability  which,  thanks  to 
its  influence,  is  displayed  by  its  pupils.  Those  who,  in  a  former 
year,  were  sent  to  Europe  in  order  to  complete  their  scientific 
education,  continue  to  give  proofs  of  their  assiduity,  and  it  is  to 


WAR  AND  MARINE. 


139 


be  believed  that  tliey  will  not  disappoint  tlie  hopes  to  which  their 
advancement  in  Chili  gave  rise.  They  have  been  assigned  to 
different  arms  in  schools  of  reputation  ;  and  a  portion  of  them, 
after  terminating  the  course  of  studies  in  military  engineering, 
will  acquire  the  necessary  knowledge  in  analogous  branches, 
which  will  admit  upon  their  return  of  their  useful  employment  in 
civil  architecture.  Last  year  eleven  cadets  and  twenty-five  cor- 
porals and  sergeants  left  the  academy  in  order  to  fill  vacancies  in 
the  army.  Six  cadets  have  also  been  assigned  to  the  naval 
service,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  announce  that  they  have  all  dis- 
played an  aptitude  for  the  service." 

The  domestic  economy  of  the  institution  appears  to  be  most 
judiciously  managed.  What  the  annual  cost  may  be,  I  had  no 
means  of  ascertaining.  By  the  report  of  the  minister  it  appears 
that  the  monthly  ration  amounts  to  four  dollars  for  cadets,  and 
two  dollars  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  for  the  inferior  school. 
Provisions  are  cheap  in  the  interior  of  Chili,  and  notwithstand- 
ing this  allowance  is  so  small,  the  rations,  as  prescribed  by  regu- 
lation, are  of  a  good  quality  and  ample  in  quantity. 

I  regret  that  the  vacation  during  my  visit  to  Santiago  pre- 
vented my  viewing  the  practical  working  of  this  institution. 

NATIONAL  GUARD. 

The  National  Gruard  of  Chili  is  divided  into  artillery,  .infantry, 
and  cavalry. 

The  artillery  consists  of  five  brigades  and  two  companies,  mak- 
ing an  aggregate  force  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates.  The  number  of 
officers  is  thirty-five,  including  one  field  officer,  while  four  com- 
pany officers,  eight  sergeants,  and  nine  musicians  belonging  to 
the  regular  army  serve  with  this  corps. 

The  infantry  consists  of  forty-four  battalions  and  sixteen  com- 
panies. Total  number  of  field  officers  twenty-one,  company 
officers  nine  hundred  and  eighty-six.  .  Twenty  field  officers 
thirty-eight  company  officers,  and  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven 


140 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


non-commissioned  officers  and  musicians  belonging  to  the  regular 
establishment,  are  on  duty  with  this  corps  as  instructors.  Total 
force  rank  and  file  of  infantry,  twenty-eight  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  ninety-eight. 

The  cavalry  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  squadrons 
and  two  companies,  containicg  an  aggregate  rank  and  file  of 
thirty-six  thousand  one  hundred  and  thirty-five.  The  number 
of  field  officers  is  eighty-one  ;  company  officers,  seven  hundred 
and  forty-seven.  Seventeen  field,  twenty-eight  company  officers, 
eighty-two  non-commissioned  officers  and  musicians  belong- 
ing to  the  regular  army  serve  with  the  cavalry  of  the  National 
Guard. 

Total  rank  and  file  of  National  Guard  amounts  to  sixty-five 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighty-two  ;  and  the  number  of  regu- 
lar officers  serviDg  as  instructors  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-six, 
including  one  general  as  inspector,  and  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  non-commissioned  officers  and  musicians. 

In  addition  to  the  three  corps  already  specified,  there  are  two 
brigades  of  firemen,  ranking  as  engineer  troops,  one  of  which  is 
employed  in  Valparaiso,  and  the  other  in  Santiago.  The  minis- 
ter of  war,  while  expressing  himself  in  his  report  well  satisfied 
with  their  efforts,  remarks  that  being  a  species  of  service  little 
practised  or  understood  in  Chili,  it  should  afford  no  cause  for 
surprise  that  their  discipline  should  not  be  so  satisfactory  as  in 
the  corps  of  infantry  and  cavalry. 

The  uniform,  arms,  and  equipments  of  the  National  Guard 
are  provided  by  the  government,  which  pays  the  musicians 
assigned  to  each  battalion  and  squadron.  As  might  be  antici- 
pated, it  has  been  found  most  economical  that  the  arms  in  the 
provincial  and  municipal,  as  well  as  the  general  armory  at  San- 
tiago, should  be  kept  in  order  at  the  expense  of  the  general 
government. 

The  Chilian  National  Guard  is  well  drilled,  and  more  efficient 
than  that  of  any  country  on  the  continent.  This  is  especially 
the  case  with  the  cavalry,  whose  members  are  as  fine  riders  as 


WAR  AND  MARINE. 


141 


can  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  world,  while  horses  are  cheap 
and  abundant. 

The  municipal  garrisons  are  furnished  from  this  force,  and 
while  actually  on  duty  its  members  receive  a  compensation  about 
equivalent  to  that  of  a  daily  labourer.  Its  efficiency  is  much  in- 
creased by  the  uniformity  and  regularity  of  the  system,  and  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  placed  under  the  inspection  and  training  of 
regular  officers  of  ability  and  experience. 

By  ats  organization  it  is  almost  out  of  the  power  of  either  the 
government  or  factious  and  ambitious  individuals,  to  make  it  an 
instrument  of  evil,  while  its  discipline  and  exercise  makes  it  a 
powerful  means  of  defence,  and  places  Chili,  though  the  smallest 
of  the  South  American  States,  in  the  first  rank  as  a  military 
power.  The  expense  of  the  regular  establishment  for  the  year 
1845,  which  is  probably  a  fair  average,  was  f 757,575,  and  that 
of  the  National  Guard,  $189,371. 

MARINE. 

No  species  of  military  force  is  so  expensive  as  a  navy  ;  it  can- 
not, therefore,  be  expected  that  Chili,  with  a  population  of  a 
million  and  a  half,  should  attempt  to  support  a  large  establish 
ment  of  this  character. 

Their  entire  navy  consists  of  six  vessels  ;  and  though  a  small 
force  compared  with  more  important  maritime  powers,  is  suf- 
ficient to  give  them  the  naval  supremacy  over  all  the  Spanish 
American  republics,  including  Mexico  and  every  South  American 
State  except  Brazil.  The  part  which  the  Chilian  navy  per- 
formed in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  subsequently  in  that 
with  the  Peru  Bolivian  Confederation,  has  been  already  referred 
to  in  these  pages. 

Though  the  crude  and  impromptu  materiel  which  existed  dur- 
ing war  has  been  much  reduced,  we  have  still  a  comparatively 
powerful  navy,  composed  of  the  following  named  vessels  : 
7* 


142  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Chile,  frigate,  - 
Janaquio,  brigantine,  - 
Condor,  brig,  - 
Magellanes,  ketch, 
Confederation,  transport, 
Maule,  packet,* 

Besides  these  cruising  vessels,  there  belongs  to  the  naval 
establishment  some  fourteen  gun  boats,  which,  in  the  absence  of 
steam  vessels,  and  especially  in  the  hands  of  Spaniards  or 
their  descendants,  render  very  efficient  service  in  defensive 
operations  on  the  coast.  The  frigate  "  Chile,"  at  the  period  of 
my  visit,  was  disarmed,  and  in  ordinary  at  Valparaiso.  She  is 
quite  a  handsome  vessel  and  a  good  sailor,  and  was  built,  I 
believe,  during  the  war  with  Peru,  at  Boulogne,  in  France.  She 
now  requires  repairs,  and  the  minister  of  the  marine  recommends 
that  she  should  be  sent  to  Europe,  where  it  is  estimated  she 
could  be  put  in  an  effective  condition  for  seventy  thousand  dol- 
lars.   Her  original  cost  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

The  other  vessels  of  the  navy,  which  are  in  good  and  effective 
condition,  are  employed  in  guarding  the  coasts,  and  keeping  up 
the  communications  with  the  naval  colony  of  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
gellan. 

In  1845,  the  Congress  appropriated  two  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  dollars  for  the  construction  of  a  steamer  of  nine  hun- 
dred tons,  three  hundred  horse  power,  and  two  brigs  ;  but  the 
estimates  for  the  cost  of  these  vessels  being  much  greater  in 
France,  where  they  were  ordered  to  be  constructed,  than  the 
sum  specified  in  the  appropriation,  the  minister  proposes  to  build 
a  steamer  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  horse  power,  and  seven  hun- 
dred tons,  and  one  brig.  The  cost  of  the  steamer,  according  to 
estimates  sent  from  France,  will  be  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty,  while  the  brig  will  cost 

^  Since  writing  the  above,  I  noticed  in  a  newspaper  that  a  sloop  of  war 
had  been  built  in  Valparaiso,  1851. 


-  46  guns. 

-  6  " 

-  4  " 

-  4  " 


WAR  AND  MARINE. 


i4 


tliirty-seven  thousand  five  hundred.  Adding  three  per  cent,  as 
the  compensation  of  the  agents  employed,  and  the  ten  per  cent, 
cost  in  the  exchange,  the  sum  total  would  be  two  hundred  and 
forty-nine  thousand  eight  hundred,  or  nineteen  thousand  eight 
hundred  dollars  above  the  amount  appropriated  by  Congress  for 
the  construction  of  this  additional  force. 

NAVAL  ACADEMY. 

A  naval  school,  intended  also  for  the  mercantile  marine,  for- 
merly existed  in  Valparaiso,  which  the  minister  states  gave  satis- 
faction ;  but  as  the  students  received  a  salary  from  the  govern- 
ment, it  was  found  too  expensive  for  the  limited  financial 
resources  of  the  country,  and  was  suppressed  in  1847. 

In  lieu  of  this  academy,  a  naval  school  was  established  on 
board  the  frigate  Chile,  on  a  more  economical  plan,  where  offi.cers 
attached  to  the  ship  are  professors. 

As  has  been  mentioned  in  the  review  of  the  war  department, 
a  number  of  pupils  from  the  military  school  were  on  service  in 
the  navy,  and  the  intention  of  the  government  is  to  obtain  here- 
after pupils  from  this  establishment  for  the  navy,  who  after 
receiving,  as  the  minister  remarks,  "  the  preparatory  instruction 
indispensable  to  all  officers  in  an  honourable  profession,  will 
complete  their  naval  instruction,  theoretical  and  practical,  on 
board  the  frigate  Chile." 

"  In  order,"  remarks  the  minister,  that  the  extinction  of  the 
naval  school  may  not  prejudice  the  mercantile  marine,  orders 
have  been  expedited  to  open  a  school  for  the  purpose  of  teachiog 
navigation  in  Valparaiso,  under  the  direction  of  the  captain  of 
the  port,  where  any  who  wish  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
duties  of  captains  of  vessels  or  navigators  (pilotos),  will  receive 
gratuitous  instruction." 

In  this,  as  well  as  most  other  provisions  made  by  the  Chilian 
government,  a  strong  desire  will  be  observed  to  render  ex3onom- 
ical  and  efficient  service  to  the  country  ;  and  I  confess  that  I 
have  nowhere  observed  officials  who  seemed  more  sincerely  actu- 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


ated  by  true  patriotism,  unconnected  with  a  disposition  to  elec- 
tioneer for  a  higher  place,  or  a  continuation  in  that  already  held, 
or  desire  to  enrich  themselves  by  jobbing  at  the  expense  of  the 
people. 

SEAMEN. 

As  under  existing  laws  compulsory  service  cannot  be  required 
of  Chilian  seamen,  a  deficiency  is  accordingly  observed  in  the 
naval  marine. 

The  remedy  which  had  before  been  applied  by  the  government 
was  to  enlist  boys,  who,  taught  in  the  navy,  are  said  to  be  free 
from  many  of  the  vices  which  characterize  those  who  are  drawn 
from  the  mercantile  marine. 

Many  seamen  in  the  Chilian  navy  are  foreigners,  principally 
English  and  Americans,  who,  discharged  or  deserting  at  Valpa- 
xaiso  or  Talcahuano,  readily  find  emplojanentj  as  their  services 
are  always  in  demand. 

MARINES. 

Under  name  of  brigade  of  naval  infantry,  consists  of  only  two 
companies — a  force,  according  to  the  minister's  report,  entirely 
insufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  vessels  in  commission,  for  the 
garrisoning  of  the  seaports  of  the  republic,  and  the  penal  colo- 
nies of  Juan  Fernandez  and  Magellan. 

The  notorious  relaxation  produced  among  the  troops  of  the 
regular  army,  by  employing  them  in  duties  which  pertain  to  ma- 
rines from  the  nature  of  their  organization,  induces  the  minister 
to  recommend  an  increase  of  this  corps  to  four  companies,  and 
to  make  it  their  especial  duty  to  guard  the  coast,  sea-board, 
colonies,  and  supply  a  military  force  for  the  vessels  in  commis- 
sion. This  increase  would  raise  the  whole  corps  to  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty- four,  and  their  head-quarters  would  be  fixed  at 
Valparaiso. 

The  increased  expense  the  minister  considers  incommensurate 
with  the  benefit  to  be  derived,  and  pertinently  emarks  that the 


WAR  AND  MARINE. 


145 


public  income  has  no  other  object  than  to  subserve  the  properly- 
understood  interests  of  the  nation." 

The  number  of  officers  in  the  Chilian  navy  is  sixty,  including 
one  vice-admiral  who  is  stationed  at  Valparaiso  as  intendant  of 
the  province,  and  commandant-general  of  the  navy  ;  one  post- 
captain  (capitan  de  navio),  three  captains  of  frigates,  one  brevet 
captain,  eight  commanders,  three  first  lieutenants,  seven  second 
lieutenants,  one  passed  midshipman,  sixteen  midshipmen,  one 
chief  surgeon,  foar  surgeons  of  the  second  class,  five  account- 
ants, one  naval  constructor,  one  engineer,  and  four  masters.  Three 
officers  are  temporarily  retired  from  duty.  The  officers  of  the 
marine  brigade  are,  one  major,  two  captains,  one  adjutant,  and 
four  lieutenants.  Of  these  officers  the  last  four  were  elevated 
from  the  ranks  for  distinguished  services. 

Several  officers  in  the  navy  and  marine  corps  are  decorated 
with  medals  struck  in  commemoration  of  the  great  victories 
achieved  by  the  forces  of  the  republic. 

Among  the  naval  officers  are  fourteen  names  indicative  of 
English  origin.  Commodore  Simpson,  whom  I  met  in  February, 
1848,  at  Callao,  in  command  of  the  frigate  Chile,  being  the 
second  officer  in  rank  in  the  navy. 

The  pay  of  the  officers  is  not  quite  so  large  as  that  for  corres- 
ponding grades  in  our  navy,  though  promotion  being  more  rapid 
it  will  be  found  to  correspond  very  nearly  when  length  of  service 
is  taken  as  a  basis.  It  was  only  in  1846  or  1847  that  the  pay 
was  elevated  to  its  existing  standard  ;  and  the  minister,  touching 
upon  the  subject  in  his  annual  report  to  Congress,  remarks,  that 

whatever  expense  it  may  be  to  the  treasury  (and,  in  truth,  it  is 
not  very  great),  it  is  well  compensated  by  the  active  and  zealous 
service  which  imposes  upon  its  members'  increasing  privations 
and  perils." 

The  expense  of  the  navy  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  in  1845, 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand  six  hundred  and 
twenty-four  dollars,  making  total  expense  of  military  establish- 


146 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


ment  one  million  seventy-five  thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  dollars. 

THE  MERCANTILE  MARINE 

of  Chili  numbers  altogether  one  hundred  and  four  vessels,  forty- 
five  of  which  are  engaged  in  foreign  trade,  one  in  the  whale 
fishery,  and  the  remainder  in  the  coasting  trade. 

Thirty-five  vessels  are  of  national  construction  ;  two  over  two 
hundred  tons,  aggregate  tonnage  five  hundred  and  two  tons ; 
twelve  over  one  hundred  tons,  aggregate  tonnage  one  thousand 
four  hundred  and  sixty-six  tons  ;  twenty-one  under  one  hundred 
tons,  aggregate  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  tons. 
Total  tonnage  of  national  construction,  three  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  tons. 

Of  naturalized  vessels  there  were  eight,  varying  about  three 
hundred  tons,  aggregate  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  three 
tons  ;  twenty-one  over  two  hundred  tons,  making  an  aggregate 
of  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  tons  ;  thirty-four 
over  one  hundred  tons,  forming  an  aggregate  of  five  thousand 
two  hundred  and  eighty-eight ;  and  six  of  less  than  one  hundred 
tons,  making  an  aggregate  of  five  hundred  and  twenty- six  tons. 

The  aggregate  naturalized  toDnage  is  thirteen  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  five  tons,  which  added  to  the  three  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty-five  of  national  tonnage,  gives  us  sixteen 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy  tons  for  the  mercantile  ton- 
nage of  Chili  at  the  close  of  the  year  1848.* 

Of  the  foreign  bottoms  naturalized  in  Chili,  thirty-two  were 
built  in  the  United  States  and  nine  in  England.  The  remaining 
twenty-seven  are  divided  between  France,  Hamburgh,  Denmark, 
Austria,  Brazil,  and  the  East  Indies. 

=^  Owing  to  the  extensive  trade  in  flour  recently  opened  between  Chili 
and  California,  their  tonnage  has  doubtless  increased  considerably. — 1851. 


CHAPTER  XL 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


DtTRiNG  my  agreeable  stay  of  a  week  in  Santiago,  I  had  not 
neglected  the  preparations  for  my  journey  across  the  Cordilleras, 
and  had  several  times  attempted  to  make  something  like  an 
equitable  arrangement  for  my  transportation  to  Mendoza.  It 
becoming  known  among  the  owners  of  horses  and  mules  that 
such  was  my  intention,  I  was  besieged  by  many  offers,  the  fellows 
attempting  to  pounce  upon  my  purse  like  so  many  Condors  of 
the  Andes  upon  the  carcase  of  a  defunct  Guanaco  ;  but,  though 
willing  to  be  moderately  fleeced,  they  found  me  unprepared  for 
any  operation  which  might  approach  the  skin  so  nearly  as  that 
which  they  proposed.  At  length,  however,  I  met  what  at  first 
blush  appeared  a  most  eligible  opportunity  to  continue  my  journey, 
having  been  introduced  to  an  Englishman,  whose  son,  a  resident 
of  Mendoza,  was  about  to  return  to  that  place.  The  father  pro- 
posed that  I  should  purchase  two  mules  from  his  son,  and  that  we 
should  travel  in  company,  each  one  bearing  an  equal  share  of  the 
expenses  of  the  journey,  at  the  termination  of  which  I  should  be 
domiciled  with  him  in  Mendoza.  The  price  of  the  mules  was 
$52.50,  and  I  was  assured  that  on  my  arrival  I  could  dispose  of 
them  for  at  least  $34.00,  or  two  ounces,  while  the  expences  of 
the  journey  would  be  trifling.  The  arrangement  was  duly  made, 
the  money  paid  for  the  mules,  the  young  man  Don  Frederico,  a 
regular  "  petit  maitre,"  duly  dined  and  feted  at  the  Hotel  Ingles, 


148  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


in  anticipation  of  tbe  good  fellowship  destined  hereafter  to  exist 
between  ns,  and  the  27th  fixed  upon  as  the  day  of  our  departure. 
As  that  day  was  also  fixed  upon  for  the  departure  of  my  two 
friends,  who  had  been  my  constant  companions  for  the  three  pre- 
ceding months,  we  had  much  to  discuss,  and  1  a.m.  found  us 
together.  Grief  at  parting  is  conducive  to  hunger  and  thirst,  the 
wherewithal  we  had  not  to  satisfy  until  we  roused  our  friend  Cap- 
tain L  from  his  comfortable  slumbers,  and  urged  him  to  use 

his  potent  influence  in  the  house  to  obtain  the  requisites.  This 
he  did  in  a  somewhat  primitive  manner  by  turning  out  a  servant, 
and  sending  him  for  a  chisel,  with  which  locks  were  broken,  and 
we  very  soon  had  all  that  we  desired. 

At  3  A.M.,  we  were  aroused  by  the  arrival  of  the  Birlocha, 
which  was  to  convey  them  to  Valparaiso,  and  after  an  affectionate 
adieu,  mutual  and  hearty  good  wishes  for  each  others'  welfare,  we 
parted.  Since  which  time  we  have  never  met.  Thus  was  broken 
the  last  link  which  bound  me  to  tke  good  old  "  Lexington  and 

as  L  and  myself,  while  awaiting  daylight,  smoked  our  cigars 

in  the  now  deserted  room,  I  began  to  appreciate  the  loneliness  of 
the  task  which  I  had  undertaken. 

A  bright  sun,  a  smiling  landscape,  the  cool  breeze  of  morning, 
and  a  rapid  pace  are  sworn  enemies  to  blue  devils ;  and  at  6  a.m., 
while  galloping  over  the  level  plains  to  the  eastward  of  the  city, 
my  regret  at  parting  with  my  friends  was  gradually  dispelled  in 
the  pleasing  prospect  of  a  future  meeting,  while  my  sense  of  lone- 
liness immediately  vanished,  and  my  enterprise  and  mental 
activity  returned  to  me.  I  agree  with  Mirabeau,  that  highway 
robbery,  burglary,  and  such  like  respectable  employments,  which 
are  principally  practised  under  cover  of  night  and  alone,  require 
a  higher  degree  of  physical  courage  than  to  storm  a  breach  on 
board  an  enemy's  vessel,  and  confess  that  I  have  always  found 
myself  less  brave  and  enterprising  at  night,  and  when  alone. 
I  wonder  if  every  one  is  not  similarly  affected,  if  they  would 
have  the  candour  to  acknowlege  it. 

Our  cortege  consisted  of  Don  Frederico,  who  was  mounted 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILT. 


149 


on  a  mule.  Lis  peon  Bertoldo,  who  rode  a  large,  raw-boned,  black 
horse,  remarkable  for  his  fiea-bitten  ears,  the  shortness  of  the 
tail,  which  appeared  to  have  become  bald  from  age,  and  his 
excessive  thinness,  which  would  have  put  to  shame  the  highly 
wrought  description  of  Don  Quixote's  Rosinante  ;  and  a  small 
Chilian  boy,  who,  mounted  on  a  mule  led  a  young  and  vicious 
colt,  a  present  which  Don  Frederico  had  received  from  his  father, 
and  whose  principal  amusement  appeared  to  be  kicking  at  any  object 
which  came  within  reach  of  its  long  legs ;  and  from  which  my 
mule  and  myself  were  destined  to  receive  more  than  one  favour 
during  our  journey.  A  description  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 
party  will  appear  in  the  course  of  the  narrative,  and  in  this  place 
I  will  only  remark  that  Frederico  was  a  plausible  scamp,  who  had 
inherited  from  his  father,  who  was  originally  a  horse  jockey,  all  his 
talents  for  disposing  at  a  high  price  very  worthless  animals,  and 
just  English  enough  to  swear  with  great  fluency  and  grammat- 
ical accuracy  in  that  language,  but  not  enough  for  any  other  pur- 
pose under  heaven  ;  that  Bertoldo  was  a  good  horsemen,  wore  a 
head  dress,  which  admitting  that  a  hat  of  ordinary  height  might 
be  taken  as  zero,  or  one  story  high,  was  certainly  six  on  the  same 
scale,  and  appeared  to  make  a  religious  duty  to  get  drunk  as  often 
as  an  opportunity  offered  ;  and  the  boy,  who  could  never  keep 
awake  by  day  or  night,  and  who  led  us  off  the  road  in  more  than 
one  instance,  by  quietly  dropping  asleep  while  in  his  saddle. 
"With  this  charming  party,  accompanied  by  a  very  jaded  looking 
mule,  of  which  I  was  informed  I  was  the  happy  owner,  behold  the 
"  nephew  of  my  uncle,"  as  Gil  Bias  has  said,  availing  myself  of 
the  coolness  of  the  morning  to  travel  rapidly,  in  order  that  I 
might  give  rest  to  the  animals  during  the  excessive  heat  of  the 
noontide  hours.  The  country  which  we  now  traversed  was  well 
cultivated  ;  its  surface  being  for  most  part  covered  with  fields  of 
wheat,  which  were  enclosed  on  the  road  side  by  walls  of  adole. 
The  houses  of  the  wealthy,  as  usual  in  Chili,  were  found  far  from 
the  road,  and  near  the  centre  of  the  estate,  while  those  of  the 
poorer  classes,  which  are  built  of  adole^  and  thatched  with 


150  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


wheaten  straw,  generally  border  upon  the  road.  The  road,  which 
is  adapted  to  carriages,  is  very  well  constructed,  and  kept  in  con- 
stant repair  ;  many  men  were  employed  upon  it,  as  I  passed,  and 
I  observed  that  the  labourers  used  the  crow  invariably  instead  of 
the  pickaxe.  In  all  instances  the  country  people,  whether  on  a 
journey  or  at  work,  politely  and  respectfully  raise  their  hats  to 
strangers  as  they  pass.  During  the  morning,  we  passed  many 
guasitas^  or  young  country  girls  on  horseback,  and  generally  at  full 
gallop.  As  we  advanced  on  our  journey  the  scenery  improved,  the 
country  being  more  thoroughly  cultivated,  the  fields  of  wheat  more 
extensive,  while  rural  chapels  with  their  surrounding  cottages, 
shaded  by  the  poplars  and  surrounded  by  grass  plats,  became 
more  numerous.  About  half-past  nine,  we  rode  through  a  fine 
poplar  avenue,  bordered  on  each  side  by  farm  houses  and  evi- 
dences of  successful  cultivation,  into  the  small  village  of  Colinas, 
where  with  appetites  whetted  by  a  ride  of  twenty-one  miles  in  the 
morning  breeze,  which  had  been  cooled  before  being  put  in 
motion  by  its  night's  repose  among  the  snowy  summits  of 
the  Andes,  we  sat  down  to  a  frugal  breakfast  of  the  invariable 
casueuij  which  has  been  heretofore  described. 

Our  peon  Bertoldo  and  the  boy  had  a  separate  table,  a  dis- 
tinction always  made  in  Chili  between  masters  and  servants,  but 
by  no  means  invariable  in  South  America.  In  the  Argentine 
Provinces,  the  Guacho  whom  you  may  hire,  considers  himself  your 
equal,  and  expects  to  share  with  you  all  the  comforts  or  discom- 
forts of  the  road  ;  this  is  also  the  case  in  the  empire  of  Brazil, 
which,  though  an  empire  in  name  is  more  essentially  democratic 
in  its  social  relations  than  any  country  in  which  I  have  travelled. 
Very  few  free  men,  whatever  may  be  their  colour  or  origin,  will  in 
that  country  hire  themselves  as  servants,  at  least  under  that  name. 
The  muleteer  or  the  boy  whom  you  may  hire  to  care  for  your 
baggage  will  insist  upon  his  title  of  Comarado — comrade,  and 
expects  to  eat  and  drink  with  his  employer — thus  I  have  seen  at 
the  long  table  of  a  Brazilian  Baron,  whose  wealth  enabled,  as  his 
inclination  prompted,  to  keep  open  house  for  all  comers  and 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


151 


goers,  the  guests  and  servants  seated  at  the  same  table,  the  only 
distinction  being  shown  by  the  vicinity  to  the  entertainer. 

After  breakfast,  we  proceeded  on  our  journey,  which  led  us 
through  a  fine  champagne  country,  where  the  light  straw  colour 
of  the  ripened  wheat  contrasted  pleasingly  with  the  bright  green 
of  the  meadows,  or  the  exotic  foliage  which  generally  surrounded 
the  houses  of  the  landholders,  or  the  cottages  of  the  peasantry, 
while  ever  and  anon  the  rural  church  with  isolated  belfry  shewed 
that  the  recipients  of  the  blessings  showered  upon  this  fair  land 
were  not  unmindful  of  their  gratitude  which  they  owed  to  the 
Almighty  donor. 

It  being  the  season  for  collecting  the  harvest,  it  was  a  festival 
in  Chili,  and  we  passed  many  jovial  parties  of  peasantry  who 
were  employed  in  treading  out  the  grain  of  the  proprietors  upon 
whose  respective  estates  their  own  cottages  were  located,  and  to 
whose  liberality  they  owed  the  land  which  they  cultivated  for  the 
support  of  themselves  and  families.  That  they  should  assist  in 
taking  in  the  harvest  is  one  of  the  conditions  upon  which  they 
hold  their  lands,  but  instead  of  being  an  onorous  service,  it  ap- 
peared to  be  a  general  festival,  and  I  have  no  where  seen  more 
boisterous  hilarity  among  the  people  than  upon  these  occasions, 
such  scenes  of  mirth,  and  merriment,  in  which  males  and  females 
alike  appeared  to  participate,  greeted  us  in  every  direction  near 
the  road  side,  while  in  the  distance,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
an  appearance  of  a  light  cloud  over  the  field  would  mark  the  spot 
where  other  parties  were  winnowing  the  grain  in  the  open  field, 
with  the  aid  of  the  steady  breeze. 

About  half  past  two  in  the  afternoon,  we  arrived  at  the  Posada 
of  Chacabuco,  a  large  hostelrie,  somewhat  in  the  same  style  of 
those  heretofore  described  at  Casa  Blanca,  and  Curucubi.  While 
attending  in  the  stables  to  see  that  our  animals  were  properly  fed, 
I  observed  a  series  of  mangers,  formed  of  hard  clay,  so  firmly 
beaten  as  to  resist  effectually  the  effects  of  time,  and  which  is  one 
of  the  expedients  to  which  the  absence  of  timber  obliges  the  people 
of  this  part  of  Chili  to  resort.    Our  dinner  was  speedily  prepared 


152  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PRO\^NCES 


and  discussed,  when  haTiiig  nothing  to  occupy  our  time,  and  being 
somewhat  fiitigued  by  a  ride  of  forty-two  miles  since  daylight, 
Don  Frederico  and  myself  retired  to  the  room  which  had  been 
prepared  for  us  by  our  bustling  and  industrious  host. 

Having  fine  moonlight  nights,  we  intended  to  start  at  fwo  in 
the  morning,  in  order  to  arrive  at  San  Felipe  before  the  heat  of 
the  day ;  but  by  some  mistake  we  arose  at  midnight,  and  were  on 
the  road  by  one  o'clock.  Having  retired  at  about  nine,  it  gave 
us  only  three  hours  sleep,  and  having  had  none  the  night  before, 
I  suffered  from  an  uncontrollable  drowsiness,  and  frequently  fell 
into  a  doze  upon  my  saddle.  A  short  time  after  leaving  the 
Posada,  we  left  the  main  road,  and  struck  the  original  mule  path, 
which  led  more  directly  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  and 
found  it  almost  impassable,  filled  as  it  was  with  stones,  and  fre- 
quently bordering  upon  precipices,  which  it  was  even  dangerous 
to  pass  at  night.  This  was  one  of  the  short  cuts  which  I  have 
found  country  people  everywhere  prefer,  and  which  are  my  pecu- 
liar aversion,  as  the  gain  in  distance  is  almost  invariably  more 
than  compensated  by  the  difficulties  of  the  road,  which  add  to  the 
fatigue  of  men  and  animals.  The  beautiful  allegory  of  Obidah 
the  son  of  Abensinah,  was  the  object  of  one  of  my  earliest  efforts 
at  deciphering  my  vernacular,  and  I  have  never  forgotten  the 
moral  of  the  story  ;  and  however  much  I  may  morally  have  strayed 
from  the  beaten  track,  I  have  always  been  averse  to  doing  so  in 
the  practical  details  of  a  journey.  I  give  this  hint  and  allusion  for 
the  benefit  of  future  travellers,  my  opinions  being  founded  upon 
a  rough  and  painful  experience,  as  my  unpublished  history  would 
demonstrate.  At  the  summit  of  the  Cuesta  of  Chacabuco,  an 
eminence  rendered  historical  by  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  forces 
by  the  army  of  San  Martin,  the  path  which  we  had  hitherto 
pursued  joined  the  carriage  road,  with  which  our  recent  experi- 
ence induced  every  one  to  be  contented ;  and  now  having  no 
longer  the  fear  of  rocks  and  precipices  before  my  eyes,  I  man- 
aged to  obtain  a  little  rest  upon  my  saddle  as  we  descended.  No 
one  who  has  not  experienced  the  feeling,  can  realize  the  ntter 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


163 


distress  of  extreme  drowsiness  wliile  riding  on  horseback  at  night, 
when  the  indistinctness  and  blending  of  the  surrounding  objects 
appears  to  exercise  a  magnetic  influence.  I  have  kept  many  a 
watch  on  board  ship,  under  all  and  every  circumstance  incident 
to  a  sea  life,  but  never  suffered  to  the  same  extent  from  the  same 
cause. 

From  the  summit  of  this  hill  the  view  is  said  to  be  remarkably 
fine,  but  owing  to  the  darkness  it  was  lost  to  us,  and  day  dawned 
only  as  we  reached  the  level  country.  Hence  to  San  Felipe,  our 
road  lay  through  a  level  and  well  cultivated  plain  abounding  in 
wheat,  hemp,  and  broom  corn,  while  the  roadside  was  bordered 
by  cottages  so  numerous  and  so  close  together,  that  it  had  the 
appearance  of  a  street  in  a  populous  village.  Countr}^  houses 
belonging  to  the  proprietors  too  were  numerous,  and  as  usual, 
apart  from  the  road,  and  approached  by  an  avenue. 

From  the  foot  of  the  Cuesta,  a  distance  of  some  ten  miles,  we 
continued  our  journey,  crossing  as  we  neared  the  city,  the  river  of 
Aconcagua,  a  considerable  mountain  torrent,  several  times  by 
fording.  The  left  bank  was  that  which  we  generally  pursued 
and  found  the  country  in  its  vicinity  more  than  ordinarily  fertile 
and  populous,  while  divers  rustic  bridges  joining  its  generally 
abrupt  and  elevated  banks,  were  pleasing  and  tasteful  features  in 
the  landscape.  Near  the  city,  a  tributary  stream  increased 
CO  nsiderably  the  volume  of  the  ice  cold  torrent,  which  we  forded 
with  difficulty  owing  to  the  depth  of  the  water,  the  strength 
of  the  current,  and  the  large  rocks  at  the  bottom,  which  only 
required  to  be  touched  to  be  set  in  motion.  Below  us  was  the 
ruins  of  the  bridge  which  had  been  destroyed  by  a  recent 
freshet. 

Having  achieved  our  difficult  passage,  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  suburbs,  where  we  separated  from  our  baggage  and  peons,  and 
repaired  directly  to  the  house  of  Don  Frederico's  uncle,  where 
he  proposed  to  breakfast,  and  await  the  cool  of  the  evening, 
having  already  made  thirty-three  miles  from  the  Posado  of  Cha- 
<iabuco.    Now,  by  some  mischance,  it  so  happened,  that  my  mule 


154         CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES', 


had  formed  a  sudden  and  violent  attachment  for  Bertoldo's  honey ^ 
not  bonny  black  horse,  equal  in  intensity,  and  doubtless  of  a  simi- 
lar character  to  that  of  Rozinante  and  Dapple,  as  celebrated  by 
Cervantes.  This  attachment,  though  not  unobserved  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  and  on  this  morning,  had  caused  me  no  inconvenience, 
but,  no  sooner  had  we  separated  from  the  baggage  animals  and 
their  drivers,  than  my  mule  refused  to  advance,  but  being  per- 
suaded thereto  by  my  spurs,  uttered  a  lamentable  bray,  which 
brought  all  the  neighbourhood  to  their  doors.  As  we  proceeded 
through  the  town,  much  to  my  annoyance,  he  again  favoured  us 
with  other  specimens  of  his  vocal  powers,  and  finally,  as  we  crossed 
the  public  square  where  a  military  band  was  practising  in  the 
barracks,  he  stopped  short,  and  lifted  up  his  voice  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  stop  the  music  instanter,  and  bring  bandsmen,  soldiers, 
and  all  the  residents  to  their  doors,  when  a  hearty  laugh  was 
indulged  in  at  my  expense,  "  Suoni  la  trom'ha?'^  It  was  not  the 
first  time  I  had  seen  a  traveller's  arrival  announced  by  an  ass  ia 
an  allegorical  sense,  but  certainly  the  first  instance  which  had 
fallen  under  my  notice,  where  it  was  effected  by  the  quadruped 

or  his  half-brother  in  jpro'pria  persona.  As  I  sat  spurring  and  

in  the  most  forcible  Spanish  and  English  I  could  muster,  urging 
the  obstinate  beast  to  proceed,  I  thought  of  Balaam  the  son  of 
Beor,  with  a  degree  of  sympathy  which  I  had  not  heretofore 
experienced  in  behalf  of  the  false  prophet  of  Moab.  Truly,  thought 
I,  if  he  spake  in  the  mode  and  manner  of  my  mule,  very  excusa- 
ble wert  thou  for  wishing  that  there  were  a  sword  in  thy  hand, 
that  thou  might'st  slay  him. 

Having  been  laughed  at  by  about  one  third  of  the  inhabitants, 
my  evil  genius  consented  to  proceed  to  the  gate  of  the  house 
where  we  intended  to  pass  the  day,  and  there  announced  my 
arrival  with  a  heraldic  flourish  which  would  have  put  to  blush 
the  enchanted  trumpets  of  the  ancient  novelists. 

The  uncle  of  my  companion  being  absent,  we  were  received  by 
a  male  and  female  cousin  ;  the  latter  married,  though  still  young, 
and  apparently  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption.    She  had  been 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


155 


pretty,  and  the  air  of  resigned  melancholy  made  her  interesting, 
while  she  looked  and  conversed  as  one  no  longer  pertaining  to 
this  world.  The  levity  of  her  brother  and  my  companion  at  first 
struck  me  as  inappropriate  and  unfeeling,  until  I  had  reflected 
and  remembered  that  the  progress  of  the  disease  had  been  so 
gradual,  that  they  probably  did  not  appreciate  its  near  approach 
to  a  consummation.  She  soon  left  us,  when  taking  no  interest 
in  the  family  discussions  which  succeeded,  I  quietly  composed 
myself  on  my  chair  for  a  snooze,  from  which  I  was  finally  awa- 
kened by  hearing  my  name  pronounced  by  Frederico,  and  reluct- ' 
antly  opening  my  heavy  eye-lids,  saw  before  me  a  very  handsome 
and  interesting  girl  awaiting  an  introduction,  and  smiling  at  the 
predicament  in  which  she  found  me.  In  an  instant  it  flashed 
through  my  mind,  that  this  was  the  Dona  I>elfina  against  whose 
charms  I  had  been  warned  before  leaving  Santiago,  and  attempt- 
ing to  rise  and  salute  her,  I  found  my  spur  entangled  in  my 
jponcho^  and  fell  back  upon  my  seat.  In  my  next  attempt  I  was 
more  successful,  and  a  kindly  shake  of  the  hand,  and  a  frank 
welcome,  immediately  relieved  me  from  my  embarrassment. 

(She  had  apparently  understood  that  I  was  an  Englishman,  and 
her  first  inquiry  was  whether  this  was  my  first  visit  to  America, 
and  being  set  right  in  this  particular,  immediately  congratulated 
me  on  the  valuable  acquisitions  of  my  countrymen  on  the  coasts 
of  the  Pacific.  The  conversation  becoming  general  she  displayed 
a  knowledge  of  history  and  geography  which  I  have  seldom  seen 
equalled  by  a  young  woman  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  a  know- 
ledge of  the  important  political  events  which  had  just  transpired 
in  Europe,  which  surprised  me  exceedingly.  Upon  this  subject 
she  asked  me  some  questions,  with  much  apparent  interest,  which 
I  was  so  unfortunate  as  not  to  be  able  to  answer,  and  was  obliged 
to  confess  she  had  much  more  information  upon  the  subject  than 
myself,  as,  during  the  recent  and  important  events  to  which  she 
alluded,  I  had  been  at  sea  or  on  the  coasts  of  Mexico  and  Cali- 
fornia, and,  consequently,  out  of  the  way  of  newspapers.  Turn- 
ing to  a  table  I  found  a  small  collection  of  books,  such  as  I  never 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


expected  to  have  met  at  this  remote  point,  and  among  them  that 
inimitable  creation  of  Madame  de  Stael,  Corinne,  and  the  French 
Encyclopedist,  in  the  original.  Her  hesitating  negative  to  my 
inquiry  whether  she  had  read  the  latter  was  fully  contradicted  by 
the  blush  which  suffused  her  countenance,  and  by  the  various  in- 
dications which  her  conversation  gave  of  a  naturally  inquiring 
mind. 

At  about  10  o'clocli  a.  m.,  our  interesting  tete  a  tete"  was 
interrupted  by  the  announcement  of  breakfast,  when  my  fair 
fiiend  presided  with  elegance  over  a  substantial  repast.  Up  to 
the  time  I  met  her  I  was  perfectly  contented  with  my  travelling 
apparel,  and  my  personal  appearance  generally,  but  such  is  the 
influence  of  female  beauty  upon  manners,  no  sooner  was  break- 
fast over  than  I  stole  away,  and,  putting  myself  under  the  hands 
of  a  professor  of  the  tonsoreal  art,  returned  as  tidy  and  captiva- 
ting as  the  ground  work  upon  which  he  operated,  and  my  limited 
wardrobe  would  permit. 

Accompanied  by  Don  Frederico,  I  went  also  to  take  out  my 
passport  for  leaving  the  country,  which  cost  four  dollars.  Had  I 
listened  to  his  suggestions,  I  might  have  saved  three  dollars  and 
a  half,  but  my  pride  would  have  prevented  my  adoption  of  his 
plan,  even  had  I  been  less  scrupulous.  It  was  simply  that  I  should 
pass  for  his  employee,"  or  clerk,  in  which  case  the  charge  would 
be  but  four  reals.  I  must  say  that  his  proposition  struck  me  3,s 
one  of  the  most  dsihonest  pieces  of  impudence  which  ever  came 
under  my  notice,  and  I  should  assuredly  have  told  him  as  much 
had  not  my  tongue  been  restrained  by  the  charms  of  his  cousin. 
At  mid-day  our  hostess  suggested  a  siesta^  which  I  declined, 
hoping  to  enjoy  in  lieu  of  it  the  pleasure  of  her  conversation,  but 
my  nap  in  the  chair  in  the  morning  rose  in  judgment  against  my 
assertion  that  I  was  not  at  all  drowsy,  and,  nolens  volens^  I  was 
put  to  bed,  or  rather  I  was  put  into  a  room  with  a  bed,  whose 
snow-white  linen  I  could  not  obtain  my  own  consent  to  soil 
with  my  dusty  clothing  ;  so  I  laid  down  on  the  tiled  floor,  using 
it  only  for  a  pillow.    I  slept  -profoundly  until  four  o'clock,  when  I 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


157 


was  awoke  by  the  announcement  of  dinner,  which  had  been 
carefully  got  up  for  the  occasion,  and,  as  I  flattered  myself,  in 
honour  of  my  own  presence.  A  pleasant  journey  across  the  moun- 
tains and  plains,  and  my  future  happiness  was  kindly  drank  in 
champagne,  an  unusual  beverage  for  the  country.  During  dinner 
my  pretty  hostess,  who  had  already  made  four  trips  across  the 
Cordillera  from  Mendoza,  of  which  city  she  was  a  native,  direct- 
ed my  attention  to  the  Lago  Encantada  and  the  Puente  del  Inca, 
the  two  objects  most  worthy  of  observation  in  the  passage  of  the 
mountains,  and  gave  me  some  pertinent  advice  as  to  my  travelling 
arrangements. 

After  dinner,  and  while  alone  with  her,  she  informed  me  that 
her  father  was  a  refugee  from  Mendoza,  whence  he  had  been 
driven  to  Chili,  on  account  of  his  political  opinions,  and  gave  me 
a  better  insight  into  the  political  state  of  the  Transmontale  Pro- 
vinces than  I  have  received  from  any  other  person.  Her  opin- 
ions were  fearlessly  expressed,  and  as  I  listened  admiringly  to  her 
eloquent  denunciations  of  the  petty  tyrants  who  rule  her  native  coun- 
try, I  could  not  but  believe  what  I  had  frequently  heard  asserted 
by  foreign  residents,  that,  in  courage  and  independence  of  thought, 
the  Argentine  women  are  vastly  superior  to  the  men.  She  smiled, 
but  with  an  air  of  stern  determination,  at  my  proposition  that  she 
should  assist  in  liberating  her  country  by  raising  a  regiment  of 
her  own  sex,  and  thanked  me  for  my  offer  to  serve  under  her 
banner.  With  all  her  mildness  and  refinement  of  manner,  there 
was  in  her  the  same  spirit  which  burned  in  Joan  de  Arc,  the  Ar- 
mida  of  Sarro,  and  the  Maid  of  Sarragossa,  and  I  felt  con- 
vinced that  her  sex  only  prevented  her  from  making  herself  known 
as  a  heroine.  Neither  do  I  believe  that,  female  as  she  is,  she  would 
be  by  any  means  a  contemptible  opponent,  as  she  is  a  fearless 
and  skilful  rider,  and  the  fact  that  she  had  more  than  once  ridden 
from  Mendoza  to  San  Felipe,  across  the  summit  and  through  the 
dangerous  passes  of  the  Andes^  a  distance  of  more  than  two  hun- 
dred miles,  in  four  days,  gave  an  earnest  of  her  abilities  to  endure 
the  fatigue  and  privations  of  a  campaign.  That  her  acquirements 
8 


158  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


should  have  been  so  extended,  considering  the  few  inducements 
and  opportunities  afforded  in  the  monotonous  life  in  an  interior 
city,  almost  unknown  to  commerce  and  strangers,  pointed  her  out 
as  a  remarkable  woman,  and  I  did  not  require  her  acknowledgment 
to  feel  assured  that  her  mind  chafed  when  she  reflected  upon  the 
limited  sphere  to  which  she  was  condemned.  It  was  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening  when  I  attended  to  the  repeated  announcement  of 
Frederico  that  our  animals  awaited  us  at  the  door,  and  turned  to 
take  leave  of  my  hostess,  in  whom  I  must  confess  I  felt  more  than 
an  ordinary  interest.  She  assured  me,  however,  that  if  I  remain- 
ed a  week  at  Mendoza,  as  I  anticipated,  she  would  see  me  there, 
as  she  intended  to  start  in  a  few  days  ;  and  I  afterwards  learned 
that  she  was  prevented  from  making  her  promise  good  by  the 
dangerous  illness  of  her  sister,  who  was  attacked  with  a  violent 
hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  which  doubtless  immediately  preceded 
her  dissolution.  It  must  not,  however,  be  understood  that  the 
journey  was  planned  with  reference  to  meeting  me,  as  it  had  been 
for  some  time  intended. 

This,  then,  was  the  bright  spot  in  my  journey,  and  Senoritcb 
Del'phinob  the  Heroine  ;  and  I  turned  from  her  house  with  feelings 
of  profound  regret,  and  anticipated  nothing  io  my  future  wan- 
derings which  could  compensate  me  for  my  sudden  separation 
from  one  in  whom  I  had  been  so  thoroughly  interested,  and  in 
whose  isolation  from  society  which  could  appreciate  her,  and  which 
she  could  enjoy,  I  so  heartily  sympathized. 

The  town  of  San  Felipe,  through  which  we  rode  at  sunset,  is  an 
incorporate  city,  containing  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  is  the  capital  of  the  fertile  agricultural  province  of  Acon- 
cagua. Its  streets  are  wide,  laid  out  at  right  angles,  and  the 
dwellings  of  the  inhabitants,  which  are  generally  but  one  story 
high,  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  earthquakes,  well  constructed, 
and  neatly  whitewashed.  Its  ornaments  are  two  Alemeidas^ 
enclosing  two  sides  of  the  city,  and  composed  of  several  rows  of 
poplars,  which  shade  the  pleasant  walks  to  which  the  mhabitauts 
resort  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  for  their  promenade.    One  of 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


159 


these  pleasant  promenades  is  called  Yungai,  in  honour  of  tho 
victory  gained  by  the  Chilians  over  Santa  Cruz,  in  the  north  of 
Peru.  Leaving  the  suburbs,  we  forded  the  river,  where  we  took 
leave  of  the  male  cousin  who  had  thus  far  accompanied  us, 
a  compliment  frequently  paid  to  strangers  in  various  parts  of 
South  America.  For  a  mile  after  passing  the  riv^cr,  the  country 
was  somewhat  rough  and  rocky  ;  after  which,  we  traversed  a  level 
road,  bordered  on  each  side  by  the  cottages  and  gardens  of  the 
peasantry,  which  were  more  numerous  than  I  had  found  them  else- 
where, even  in  this  thickly  inhabited  country.  For  more  than  four 
leagues  and  a  quarter,  the  road  resembled  the  street  of  a  strag- 
gling village,  with  here  and  there  a  rustic  church,  while  the 
peasantry  sitting  in  front  of  their  comfortable  cottages,  and  chat- 
ting with  their  families  or  those  of  their  neighbours,  presented  a 
scene  of  quiet  comfort,  which  I  could  not  but  enjoy,  although  by 
no  means  in  the  best  mood  for  receiving  agreeable  impressions. 
The  roads  being  good,  the  night  cool,  and  the  animals  fresh,  the 
time  passed  rapidly  ;  and,  at  about  half-past  nine,  we  found  our- 
selves, very  much  to  my  surprise,  in  the  pleasantly  situated  town 
of  Santa  Rosa  de  las  Andes,  where  we  intended  to  pass  the  night. 
There  being  no  Posada^  we  were  at  first  embarrassed  for  a  resting 
place,  but  at  length  managed  to  hire  a  vacant  room,  where  after 
bribing  our  stomachs  into  quiet  submission  to  the  deprivation  of 
their  evening  repast  with  a  glass  of  aquadente^  we  laid  ourselves 
down  to  sleep  on  the  damp  earthern  floor,  with  our  saddles  for 
pillows,  my  last  act  of  consciousness  being  a  hearty  growl  at 
my  travelling  companion,  who  had  refused  the  kind  invitation  to 
remain  in  San  Felipe,  where  I  might  have  enjoyed  for  a  few  hours 
longer  the  society  of  the  interesting  Deljphina^  and  an  effort  to 
distinguish  the  hour  of  the  night,  as  it  was  plaintively,  yet  sweetly 
announced  by  the  serenos^  who  patrolled  the  street. 

March  1. — Rose  early,  and  managed  to  obtain  a  frugal  repast,  too 
frugal  indeed  to  meet  our  views,  considering  that  our  dinner  at  San 
Felipe  had  been  our  last  meal.  Afterward  I  visited  the  governor 
of  the  department,  in  order  to  have  my  passport  viseed,  and 


AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


endeavoured  to  obtain  some  local  information  without  success, 
as  this  functionary  evidently  belonged  to  that  school  of  officials, 
so  invariable  in  England,  who  appear  to  suspect  every  stranger 
of  being  a  thief,  if  not  an  enemy  to  be  dreaded,  and  consider  any 
civility  utterly  lost  upon  him.  I  was,  however,  so  fortunate  as  to 
make  some  purchases  from  an  intelligent  merchant,  who  gave  me 
the  information  I  had  in  vain  attempted  to  obtain  from  the 
governor.  The  department  of  Santa  Rosa,  he  informed  me,  was 
one  of  the  richest  and  most  productive  of  the  Republic,  abound- 
ing especially  in  wheat,  and  other  agricultural  products,  although 
it  has  also  mines  of  silver  and  copper.  The  population  of  the 
department  is  about  40,000,  and  that  of  the  town  4,000,  and  the 
number  of  the  national  guard  in  the  town  alone,  four  hundred.  The 
country  is  generally  healthy,  being  subject  to  no  endemic  or  epide- 
mic diseases.  It  is  true  there  are  isolated  case  of  goitre^  which 
disease  appears  to  be  slightly  on  the  increase,  but  has  not  yet 
assumed  the  formidable  character  which  it  presents  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountains.  Here,  as  from  sources  worthy  of  confi- 
dence in  Santiago,  I  was  informed  that  the  goitre  was  unknown 
in  Chili,  until  some  twenty  years  ago,  when  it  made  its  appearance 
simultaneously  with  the  introduction  of  the  poplars  from  Mendoza. 
This  being  the  frontier  town,  the  duties  on  imports  from  the 
Argentine  Provinces  are  collected  at  the  Custom  House.  Among 
other  dutiable  articles  are  cattle  and  horses,  and  I  was  not  a  little 
amused  at  the  manner  in  which  my  companion,  Frederico,  imposed 
upon  the  Custom  House  officials.  When  he  came  from  Mendoza 
a  few  weeks  before,  he  had  with  him  several  horses  and  mules, 
which  he  announced  it  his  intention  to  take  back  with  him,  and 
instead  of  paying  the  duties,  he  gave  security  that  they  should 
be  paid  in  the  event  that  he  should  dispose  of  them  in  Chili. 
How  many  he  had  originally  I  do  not  know,  but  two  mules  had 
now  become  my  property,  two  others,  perhaps  serviceable 
animals,  had  been  exchanged  for  miserable  worn  out  hacks,  upon 
which  Bertoldo  and  the  boy  were  mounted.  The  vicious, 
unbroken  colt,  had  doubtless  taken  the  place  of  another  animal^ 


SKETCHES  IN  CHILI. 


161 


which  had  been  disposed  of  in  Chili.  Whether  the  number 
with  which  he  returned,  was  the  same  as  that  with  which  he  had 
entered  the  country,  I  do  not  know,  but  observed  that  he  had 
my  animals  recorded  as  his  own,  thus  saving  the  duties  upon 
them,  and  if  the  hacks  which  he  substituted  did  not  make  up  the 
full  complement,  he  was  obliged  to  pay  only  upon  the  deficiency. 
A  knowledge  of  these  facts  I  obtained  only  by  hearing  his  con- 
versation with  the  officers,  as  he  doubtless  intended  to  have  kept 
it  a  secret  from  me,  and  my  attention  was  first  attracted  by  his 
barefaced  assertion  that  my  mules  were  his  property,  which  he 
had  loaned  to  me  for  the  journey.  A  shrewd  diplomatist  and 
financier  was  Don  Frederico,  the  companion  whom  fortune  had 
given  me,  a  fact  of  which  I  had  still  further  evidence  during  the 
day,  when  he  borrowed  some  twenty-five  dollars  which  he  always 
forgot  to  refund.  While  in  the  house  of  my  afikble  and  commu- 
nicative friend,  the  merchant,  we  were  introduced  to  a  young 
gentleman  from  the  Argentine  province  of  San  Juan,  who  being 
also  on  his  way  to  Mendoza,  ofi'ered  to  be  our  companion,  a  pro- 
position to  which  both  my  companion  and  myself  assented.  His 
name  was  Astorga,  and  he  informed  us  that  he  would  be  ready  at 
any  hour  we  might  think  fit  to  set  out,  and  mentioned  the  house 
of  a  friend  in  the  suburbs  where  he  would  be  found.  Eeturning 
to  our  lodgings,  we  dined  and  had  our  siesta j  which  is  seldom 
omitted  in  this  country,  and  saddling  up,  set  out  on  our  journey 
towards  the  mountain,  which  now  towered  in  awful  majesty  above 
us.  The  town  of  Santa  Rosa,  or  Andes,  as  it  is  more  generally 
termed  in  Chili,  contains,  as  has  been  before  mentioned,  about 
4,000  inhabitants,  is  laid  out  with  great  regularity,  with  a  large 
square  in  the  centre.  The  town  itself  is  a  perfect  square,  and  is 
bounded  on  every  side  by  a  beautiful  Alameda.  The  houses,  as 
usual,  are  of  one  story,  the  streets  well  paved,  while  through  the 
greater  number  of  them  runs  a  small  mountain  stream  of 
icy  coldness.  Altogether,  it  was  one  of  the  prettiest  towns  I 
had  seen  in  Chili,  yet  its  beauty  did  not  reconcile  me  to  the  loss 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES, 


of  some  twenty  hours  which  might  have  been  better  passed  at 
San  Felipe. 

Finding  that  we  were  leaving  the  town  without  calling  for 
Astorga,  I  reminded  my  comrade  of  the  fact,  when  he  stated 
that  he  might  have  gone  already,  and  if  not,  and  we  should  by 
accident  meet  him  again,  we  could  say  that  we  sought  him,  but 
could  not  find  him.  His  reply  made  me  more  anxious  to  have 
another  travelling  companion,  as  I  was  now  thoroughly  disgusted 
with  Don  Frederico,  who  evidently  wished  me  to  have  no  one  in 
the  party  to  whom  I  could  refer  except  himself.  Leaving  the 
town,  the  scenery  began  to  assume  a  different  character,  and  the 
road  led  us  by  various  windings,  through  several  fertile  and  well 
cultivated  valleys,  artificially  irrigated  by  numerous  mountain 
streams.  Passing  near  a  mill  by  the  roadside,  we  met  a  party  of 
travellers,  one  of  whom  proved  to  be  a  Mendosino^  an  acquaint- 
ance of  my  companion,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Valparaiso  to  re- 
claim a  bride  to  whom  he  had  a  short  time  previous  been  married 
by  proxy.  Learning  that  I  was  an  American,  he  immediately 
addressed  me  in  English,  and  informed  me  that  he  had  been 
educated  in  Philadelphia,  and  at  parting,  desired  me  to  inform 
Mr.  Somebody  and  family  (whose  names  were  jolted  out  of  my 
cranium  during  the  next  two  days'  hard  riding,)  of  that  city  that 
he  was  well,  and  had  just  been  married.  Should  these  pages  meet 
the  eye  of  any  one  answering  to  the  description  already  given, 
they  are  at  liberty  to  appropriate  the  intelhgence,  and  the  mes- 
sages of  kindly  remembrance  which  accompanied  it.  The  road 
now  commenced  a  gradual  ascent,  leading  over  a  rude  though 
substantial  stone  bridge,  to  the  pass  or  guard  where  our  passports 
were  examined  by  a  sociable  old  fellow,  whoso  love  of  society  had 
not  been  decreased  by  his  solitary  mode  of  life,  and  who  insisted 
that  we  should  smoke  a  cigar  and  have  a  chat  with  him.  Night 
overtook  us  soon  after  leaving  the  pass,  when  commenced  a 
chapter  of  annoyances  which  so  frequently  beset  the  traveller. 
My  saddle  being  intended  for  a  horse,  was  too  large  for  the  mule, 
and  in  consequence,  I  lost  the  sweat  cloth  from  under  it,  and  it 


SKETCHES   IN  CHILT. 


163 


not  belag  tlie  custom  of  the  country  to  use  a  crupper,  it  and  my- 
self nearly  went  over  the  beast's  head,  while  going  down  a  steep 
hill.  Next  the  boy,  who  had  charge  of  my  cloak  and  the  led 
horse,  fell  asleep  and  lost  them,  thus  involving  a  long  delay, 
while  Bertoldo  returned  for  them.  Finally,  at  about  nine 
o'clock,  the  cheerful  glimmering  of  a  light  announced  the  vicinity 
of  the  Loros^  a  miserable  cottage  where  we  intended  to  pass  the 
night.  I  have  frequently  entered  a  more  pretending  habitation 
with  less  satisfaction,  and  a  few  minutes  found  me  seated  by  the 
fire  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  with  two  tolerably  pretty  girls, 
who  were  cooking  us  a  supper  of  egg  soup  and  carnt  seca^  or 
jerked  beef.  The  prettiest  of  the  daughters  of  our  host,  Rosita, 
was  a  black-eyed  coquettish  girl  of  some  eighteen  summers,  whose 
intercourse  with  travellers  had  removed  any  bashfulness  which 
she  might  have  originally  possessed,  and  she  and  I  became  on 
the  instant,  capital  friends.  Her  sister  had  coquetted  some  six 
years  longer  with  the  passing  voyager,  and  was  consequently  less 
attractive.  When  supper  had  been  removed  from  the  fire  to  our 
earthern  bowl,  which  was  common  to  all  who  wished  to  enter 
their  spoons,  we  were  aroused  by  the  arrival  of  another  traveller 
who  claimed  hospitality.  It  proved  to  be  Astorga,  our  acquaint- 
ance of  the  morning,  who  had  awaited  our  arrival  until  nearly 
night,  when  despairing  of  our  keeping  our  appointment,  he  had 
set  out  with  his  peon  Jacinto,  a  fine-looking  intelligent  Gruacho, 
whose  pride  in  his  country  was  displayed  by  his  wearing,  even  in 
Chili,  the  Buenos  Ayrian  Chiripa,  a  piece  of  red  flannel  singularly 
secured  about  the  loins  and  thighs,  over  a  fimciful  pair  of  loose 
white  drawers. 

Frederico's  already  coined  lie  was  immediately  put  into  service, 
but  he  took  care  not  to  refer  to  me,  doubtless  judging  by  my 
countenance,  that  my  support  was  at  least  questionable.  Indeed, 
feeling  somewhat  reassured  by  the  presence  of  x\storga,  from 
whom  I  determined  not  to  separate,  I  felt  much  inclined  to  con- 
tradict his  impudent  ^lad  useless  falsehood. 

Our  supper,  which  would  have  baffled  the  digestive  power  of 


164  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


any  one,  save  a  traveller,  a  seafaring  man,  or  an  ostrich,  was 
speedily  dispatched,  after  which  the  three  of  us  laid  ourselves 
down  in  the  open  air,  in  front  of  the  cottage,  and  speedily  fell  into 
a  sound  sleep,  without  being  obliged  to  refer  to  the  magnetic  in- 
fluence of  the  stars  J  which  shone  brightly  overhead. 


CHAPTER  XIL 


THE  CORDlLLERAo 

Mxrch  2. — Rosa  at  daylight,  and  without  waiting  for  break- 
fast, set  out  upon  our  journey.  The  ascent  proper  had  now  com- 
menced, the  road  following  the  side  of  the  mountain,  whose  sum- 
mits were  lost  in  the  distance  overhead.  As  from  time  to  time 
we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  peaks  of  the  principal  range,  towards 
which  we  pursued  our  devious  route,  its  snow-capped  summit  re- 
minded us  that  before  night  we  must  change  the  mild  and  genial 
temperature  which  we  then  enjoyed  for  the  stern  climate  of  a 
northern  winter.  Below  the  narrow  shelf-like  road  which  wre 
followed,  rushed  the  turbid  mountain  torrent,  carrying  with  it  in 
its  course,  not  only  a  heavy  debris^  but  even  large  rocks  which  it 
had  undermined  by  its  impetuous  violence.  At  one  point  where 
the  hills  on  either  side  terminated  in  solid  rock,  apparently  of 
great  hardness,  the  torrent  was  compressed  to  a  width  which  did 
not  appear  to  be  greater  than  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  Through 
this  channel,  which  is  termed  the  Sallo  del  Soldado^  or  Soldier's 
Leap,  the  waters  rush  with  a  maddening  violence,  and  tradition 
asserts  that  a  soldier,  in  attempting  to  escape  from  his  pursuers, 
successfully  leaped  this  fearful  chasm.  Oace  on  the  other  side 
he  was  safe,  as  no  one  dared  to  follow  his  example,  and  I  could 
only  wonder  that,  even  with  the  avengers  of  blood  behind  him, 
he  should  have  succeeded  in  his  desperate  attempt.    On  the  road 


166 


we  met  several  droves  of  cattle  on  their  Vv-ay  from  Mendoza  to 
Chili.  They  are  there  fattened  and  killed  for  market ;  the  Chi- 
lians, like  the  Chinese,  having  learned  that,  with  a  dense  popula- 
tion, the  rearing  of  cattle  is  far  from  economical,  and  that  land 
may  be  more  profitably  appropriated  in  planting  cereal  grains. 
In  the  plains  to  the  pastward  of  the  Andes  it  is  different,  population 
is  sparse,  and  the  land,  without  an  enormous  expense  be  incurred  in 
irrigation  and  cultivation,  is  utterly  useless  except  for  grazing. 

It  was  painful  to  see  the  poor  animals  whose  tender  hoofs  were 
accustomed  only  to  the  soft  surface  of  the  plains,  limping  over  the 
stony  roads  of  the  mountains,  which,  during  their  transit,  had 
effectually  lamed  the  greater  number  of  them,  while  want  of  pas- 
ture on  the  mountains  had  reduced  them  to  the  condition  of 
walking  skeletons. 

About  10  A.  M.,  we  arrived  at  the  Guardia  Vieja^or  old  guard, 
a  ruined  hut,  occupied  only  during  the  summer  on  account  of  the 
severity  of  the  climate.  We  here  breakfasted  on  some  beef 
cooked  on  a  spit,  which  was  quite  tempting  after  our  morning's 
ride,  though  I  much  doubt  whether  its  general  appearance  before 
cooking,  and  the  manner  of  cooking,  would  not  have  rather  pro- 
duced disgust,  had  we  met  it  when  our  appetites  were  pampered 
to  idleness  and  the  accompaniments  of  civilization.  While  break- 
fast was  preparing  I  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  wash 
myself  in  the  torrent,  notwithstanding  the  decided  protests  of 
my  companions,  who  assured  me  most  earnestly  that  it  was  unsafe 
and  pernicious  to  wash  while  on  a  journey.  I  observed  that  they 
never  allowed  themselves  to  incur  such  risk,  and  never  allowed 
water  to  touch  their  faces  or  hands  until  we  had  arrived  at  Men- 
doza. The  principle  upon  which  ablutions  are  opposed  I  did  not 
ascertain,  but  have  observed  that  it  is  very  general  in  South 
America. 

Leaving  the  Guardia  Vieja^  which  has  been  heretofore  men- 
tioned as  the  site  of  the  first  battle  between  the  forces  of  San 
Martin  and  the  Royalists,  we  proceeded  up  the  mountain,  which 
became  more  precipitous  as  we  advanced.    About  mid-day  we 


V 


THE   CORDILLERA.  167 


came  to  a  large  rivulet  called  tlie  Ojo  de  Agua,  one  of  the  most 
clear  and  sparkling  streams  I  have  ever  seen,  and  which,  as  it 
rushed  over  its  bottom  of  smooth  stones  glittered  like  a  stream  of 
brilliants.    Its  origin  was  a  snow  bank  about  a  mile  distant  up  a 
a  ravine  on  our  left,  and  apparently  about  six  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  which  we  had  then  attained.    This  stream  differed  from 
that  of  the  principal  torrent,  which  was  muddy  and  turbid,  and 
as  the  day  was  yet  warm  we  halted,  and  had  a  most  refreshing 
drink  of  its  icy-cold  waters.    "We  were  now  near  the  limit  of 
perpetual  snow,  and  the  Casueha  on  the  banks  of  the  Ojo  de  Agua, 
marked  the  prevision  of  the  Spanish  Governor,  O'Higgins,  who 
had  there  houses  of  refuge  built  and  repaired  for  the  safety  of 
travellers.    On  the  Chilian  side  there  are  massive  and  arched 
edifices  of  stone  or  brick,  containing  a  single  room,  with  the  en- 
trance generally  elevated  some  feet  above  the  surface,  in  order 
that  it  may  not  be  closed  by  the  drifting  snow.    Under  O'Hig- 
gins,  these  establishments,  so  desirable  for  the  traveller  who  may 
have  to  pass  the  mountains,  either  late  in  autumn,  or  early  in 
spring,  were  well  adapted  to  resist  the  extreme  cold,  and  each 
one  contained  a  supply  of  charcoal  and  food,  upon  which  any  one 
who  might  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  shut  up  by  the  snow  might 
subsist.    The  keys  of  these  stores  were  given  to  the  couriers,  and 
a  certain  tax  was  levied  upon  the  interior  commerce  for  their 
support.    Since  the  revolution  they  appear  to  have  been  neg- 
lected ;  there  are  now  no  deposits  of  coal,  or  provisions,  and  not 
a  single  door  or  particle  of  v/ood  work  remains  on  any  Casueha 
on  either  side  of  the  mountain  ;  all  having  been  burned  to  supply 
a  temporary  warmth  to  some  unfortunate  travellers  who  have 
been  compelled  to  seek  their  shelter.    We  can  imagine  how  ex- 
treme must  have  been  their  distress  when  they  destroyed  their 
only  barrier  against  the  piercing  cold  which  invaded  them. 

None  of  these  houses  have  chimneys,  which  would  certainly  be 
an  improvement ;  but  even  as  they  exist — cold,  damp  and  cheer- 
less, without  a  door  to  obstruct  the  snow  or  the  piercing  wind- — 
they  are  of  great  utility  to  travellers,  and  have  been  the  means 


168 


emu  AND 


THE  ARGENTINE 


PEOVINCES. 


of  preserving  many  lives.  The  courier  with  whom  I  crossed  the 
plains  to  Buenos  Ajres,  had  upon  one  occasion  been  shut  up  in 
a  Casucha  by  a  snow  storm  for  some  eighteen  days,  and  was  final- 
ly obliged  to  sally  out  and  pursue  his  journey  by  the  immediate 
danger  of  starvation  ;  and  his  description  of  his  horrible  captivity, 
and  still  more  horrible  journey  through  the  snow,  over  mountain 
torrents,  concealed  slippery  and  dangerous  paths,  though  related 
simply,  and  without  figures  of  speech,  was  thrillingly  interesting. 
Though  neither  timid,  nor  by  any  means  devotional,  he  never  al- 
luded to  this  passage  in  an  adventurous  life  without  a  shudder, 
nor  without  raising  his  hat  and  crossing  himself.  The  induce- 
ments which  had  been  held  out  to  him  to  make  the  journey  had 
been  gieat  for  a  poor  man.  Some  merchants  finding  it  a  matter 
of  the  last  importance  to  communicate  with  Buenos  Ayres,  had 
offered  him  twenty  ounces  of  gold  to  take  a  letter  to  Mendoza, 
very  late  in  the  autumn,  and  he  had  undertaken  it ;  but  no  bribe, 
he  assured  me,  would  ever  induce  him  to  renew  the  attempt,  after 
the  terrible  experience  he  had  already  gained. 

Leaving  the  Ojo  de  Agua,  we  continued  to  ascend  by  a  steep 
and  rugged  road,  passing  another  Casucha  about  one  league — the 
ordinary  distance — from  the  first.  The  road  thus  far  had  been  a 
steep  ascent,  but  before  us  was  a  hill  surmounted  by  the  third 
Casucha,  which  had  been  climbed  by  what  appeared  an  innume- 
rable succession  of  caracols,  or  short  zig-zags.  At  the  foot  of 
this  hill,  and  at  the  head  of  a  ravine,  issued  an  immense  spring, 
which  in  a  moment  I  suspected  must  be  the  outlet  of  the  famous 
"  Lago  Encantada,"  or  enchanted  lake,  which  has  not  only 
proved  a  mystery  to  the  natives  of  the  country,  but  appears  also 
to  have  excited  the  astonishment  of  scientific  travellers  who  heard 
in  Chili  of  its  existence."^  Nor  was  I  disappointed,  as,  after  at- 
taining the  summit  of  the  hill  and  passing  the  Casucha  we  had  a 
fine  view  of  a  beautiful  mountain  lake,  distant  about  a  mile  from 
the  road.  As  it  would  have  been  extremely  uncomfortable,  if  not 
unsafe  to  have  passed  the  night  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain, 
^  IT.  S.  Exploring  Expedition,  Vol  I. 


THE  CORDILLERA, 


160 


I  was  obliged  to  forego  a  visit  to  this  interesting  lake,  and  content 
myself  with  a  passing  view.  Of  its  extent  it  was  impossible  to 
judge  accurately,  but  I  should  suppose  it  to  be  about  three  miles 
in  length,  and  one  in  breadth.  In  the  fact  of  its  existence  in 
that  locality,  and  its  always  retaining  the  same  level,  I  saw  no 
mystery.  Its  bed  is  the  head  of  a  great  valley,  whose  outlet  has 
been  closed  at  some  remote  geological  period,  and  its  supply  is 
derived  from  the  snow  banks,  by  which  it  is  bounded  on  three  sides, 
"while  the  subterranean  channel  which  issues  below  is  sufficiently 
large  to  drain  all  the  superfluous  water  thus  produced.  It  is  not, 
as  some  suppose,  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano  ;  and  the  dis- 
tance of  the  outlet,  which  is  more  than  a  mile  from  the  margin 
of  the  lake,  has  prevented  those  who  have  observed  it,  from 
seeking  there  the  key  to  the  apparent  phenomena  of  the  lake 
retaining  at  all  times  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same  level  ;  and  the 
superstitious  Arrieros,  whose  minds  are  doubtless  tempered  by 
the  awful  sublimity  of  this  elevated  and  uninhabitable  region, 
have  sought  an  explanation  in  the  power  of  enchantment. 

Leaving  the  lake  on  our  left  we  followed  the  bed  of  a  ravine, 
still  ascending,  though  more  gradually,  and  the  cold  became  so 
intense  that  Astorgas'  peon  declared  it  must  be  snowing  on  the 
summit,  which  surmise  afterward  proved  to  be  correct.  As  we 
had  been  ascending  steadily  during  the  whole  day,  I  was  some- 
what surprised  when  one  of  my  companions  proposed  that  we 
should  each  take  a  pull  of  the  Chifres  containing  the  brandy,  and 
another  pull  at  our  saddle  girths  before  commencing  to  climb  the 
mountain.  And  sure  enough  the  ascent  now  commenced  in  ear- 
nest, as,  leaving  the  valley,  our  road  led  us  by  a  series  of  short 
zig-zags  up  a  mountain  slope,  which  certainly  could  have  varied 
little  from  45^.  The  height  and  regularity  of  the  hill  gives  it  an 
imposing  appearance,  and  from  the  distance  the  zig-zag  road  ap- 
pears like  a  line  on  its  face,  upon  which,  by  no  possibility,  a  mule 
could  obtain  a  footing,  yet  the  path  is  sufficiently  wide,  and  by 
no  means  so  dangerous  as  the  Laderas  which  we  found  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mountain. 


170  CHILi  AND  THE  ARCxEXTiXE  PROVINCES. 


Again  and  again,  as  we  ascended,  the  tired  and  panting  mules 
would  stop,  and,  after  resting  two  or  three  minutes,  renew  their 
efforts  in  climbing  the  mountain.  It  is  in  such  cases  as  this  that 
the  traveller  sees  so  much  to  admire  in  the  patient  and  sagacious, 
though  self-willed  animal,  upon  whose  efforts  and  steadiness  de- 
pends his  life  and  property.  In  such  cases  there  is  no  whipping 
or  spurring,  no  abusive  or  reproachful  language,  and  the  mule 
hears  only  the  unusual  language  of  encouragement  and  approba- 
tion. A  narrow  shelf  with  a  more  gradual  ascent  gave  some 
relief  to  our  animals  before  the  final  "series  of  zig-zags  which 
conducted  us  to  the  summit  ;  but  the  sun  was  now  low,  the  wind 
high,  and  directly  from  the  snow  bank,  and  the  cold  became  in- 
tense. The  sufferings  of  the  poor  mules  it  was  now  painful  to 
witness,  as,  partly  owing  to  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
partly  to  the  fatigue  produced  by  the  steepness  of  the  road,  their 
breathing  was  more  accelerated  and  laborious,  and  their  pauses  to 
rest  more  frequent.  Still,  without  a  touch  of  the  spur  or  a  word, 
they  would  start  of  their  own  accord  after  recovering  their  breath, 
apparently  conscious  that  they  had  a  definite  task  which  must  be 
performed.  On  our  right  was  the  elevated  ridges  of  the  princi- 
pal range  which  we  were  now  ascending,  while  on  our  left  was  a 
valley  which,  as  we  looked  down  into  its  dark  recesses,  appeared 
unfathomable.  On  the  other  side  of  this  ravine  the  mountain 
peaks  rose  to  the  height  of  some  fifteen  or  eighteen  thousand  feet, 
covered,  even  at  a  less  elevation  than  we  had  already  attained,  by 
snow  and  masses  of  ice  which,  clinging  to  the  mountain  side,  re- 
fracted a  tint  of  light  green  in  the  rays  of  the  declining  sun. 

Two  facts  observable  in  the  appearance  of  these  mountains 
may  require  a  note  of  explanation  ;  that  perpetual  snow  is  found 
on  the  mountains  across  the  valley  at  a  less  elevation  than  on  the 
principal  chain  where  the  road  crosses,  and  the  existence  of  the 
glaciers.  To  the  latter  my  attention  had  been  directed,  while  at 
Santiago,  by  a  gentleman  of  intelligence,  who  had  seen  them  in 
his  transit,  and,  who  being  aware  of  the  opinion  that  none  were 
found  in  the  Andes,  wished  me  to  corroborate  his  observations. 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


171 


The  explanation  of  the  former  phenomenon,  I  consider  by  no 
means  obscure,  as  the  snow  when  it  descends  to  the  lowest  level, 
invariably  surrounds  the  mountains,  whose  peaks  have  a  much 
greater  elevation  than  the  mountain  pass  which  the  road  tra- 
verses. The  summit  of  the  latter  is  in  the  latitude  below  the 
limit  of  perpetual  snow,  which  melted  by  the  summer's  sun,  does 
not  again  accumulate  until  winter,  while  the  lofty  peaks  of  the 
former  being  within  that  limit,  the  melting  influence  of  the  sun 
has  the  effect  of  softening  the  snow  and  glaciers,  which  by  their 
gravity,  aided  by  the  expansive  fo.rce  of  the  fluid,  are  pushed  to- 
ward the  valley,  where  they  accumulate  more  rapidly  than  they 
are  melted.  The  presence  of  the  glaciers  admits  also  an  easy 
explanation  on  the  general  principle  of  their  formation  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  where  they  are  found.  They  owe  their  origin 
to  the  snow  melting  during  the  day  and  freezing  at  night,  when 
it  is  invariably  cool,  and  are  permanently  hardened  in  large 
masses  during  winter.  Their  limited  extent  it  is  less  easy  to 
explain,  as  they  are  found  at  but  one  point,  and  there  only  cover- 
ing a  small  space,  which,  I  presume,  is  owing  to  local  conforma- 
tion favourable  to  the  melting  of  the  snows,  and  collecting  it  in 
quantities  sufficiently  large  that  it  may  endure  the  noon  day  sun 
of  summer.^ 

Wending  our  way  tediously,  and  by  short  zig-zags  up  the 
mountain,  we  met  the  full  force  of  the  westerly  wind,  a  return 
current  of  the  south-east  trades,  which  constantly  blew  near  the 
level  of  the  sea,  while  patches  of  snow  in  sheltered  locations  in- 
formed us  that  a  few  hours  earlier  we  should  have  had  even  a 
more  tempestuous  transit.  It  must  not,  however,  be  under- 
stood that  the  temperature  of  this,,  pass  is  always  so  low,  or  the 
wind  so  violent.  One  of  my  companions  who  had  crossed  at 
mid -day  a  few  weeks  before,  assured  me  that  he  was  inconve- 
nienced by  the  heat,  even  on  the  summit.    The  strong  westerly 

*  I  am  inclined  to  beheve  that  these  glaciers  have  not  always  existed,  as 
no  mention  of  them  is  made  by  that  eminent  naturalist  Darwin,  who  crossed 
at  this  pass. 


172 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


wind  will  seldom  be  experienced  in  the  morning,  which  is  conse- 
quently the  best  time  to  cross.    This  fact  is  another  evidence 
that  these  elevated  v/inds  are  return  currents  to  the  trades,  which 
along  the  coast  blow  strongest  in  the  afternoon.    The  puna^  or 
oppression  of  the  chest,  and  difficulty  of  breathing  noticed  by 
travellers  I  did  not  experience,  although,  judging  from  their 
violent  panting,  the  mules  did,  as  the  fatigue  of  the  ascent  alone 
would  not  account  for  their  obvious  distress.    The  sun  was  but  a 
few  degrees  above  the  glacier-clothed  peaks  already  described, 
when  a  scene  opened  to  my  view  from  the  summit,  which  repaid 
me  amply  for  all  my  discomforts  in  the  ascent,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  my  journey.    Had  I  been  "  blaze^'^^  I  should  de- 
cidedly have  received  a  new  impression.    I  have  heard  and  read 
much  of  natural  scenery,  whose  grandeur  and  sublimity  had  pro- 
duced in  observers  a  feeling  of  awe,  and  have  in  many  cases 
viewed  it  afterwards  without  surprise,  almost  with  indifference. 
The  storm  at  sea  in  all  imaginable  phases  I  have  witnessed  with- 
out a  profound  impression,  neither  have  I  been  much  impressed 
by  the  thunder  storm  in  the  mountains,  or  by  cataracts,  or  by 
the  many  natural  objects  on  which  so  many  highly-wrought  pages 
have  been  lavished.    Two  views  only,  of  which  I  had  heard  and 
read  much,  did  not  fail  to  realize  my  expectations;   the  first 
was  the  Andes  as  seen  from  Valparaiso  in  winter,  and  the  next, 
the  view  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain  pass  of  Uspallata. 
To  produce  awe,  there  must  be  added  a  certain  feeling  of  per- 
sonal insecurity  to  the  natural  grandeur  of  the  object  viewed.  The 
dangers  of  the  descent,  which  are  greater  than  those  of  the  ascent, 
combined  with  the  uneasy  impression  produced  by  the  great 
height  which  I  had  attained,  compared  with  the  narrow  ridge  on 
which  I  stood,  just  sufficiently  tempered  my  admiration  with  an 
ill-defined  dread  to  give  to  the  view  a  character  of  awful  subli- 
mity.   Behind  us  was  the  deep  dark  valley  which  we  had  left, 
and  beyond  it  the  snow-capped  mountain  masses,  covered  in  part 
by  glaciers,  which  reflecting  a  greenish  tint,  contrasted  beautifully 
with  the  pure  white  of  the  surrounding  snow,  while,  on  the  right, 


THE  CORDILLERA, 


173 


and  apparently  quite  close,  though  in  reality  many  miles  distant, 
rose  the  enormous  white  column  of  Tupungati,  whose  everlasting 
robe  of  white  dazzled  the  eye  as  it  pierced  the  heavens  to  a 
height  nearly  double  the  thirteen  thousand  feet  to  which  we  had 
ascended.  In  front,  the  view'  was  limited  by  a  range  of  moun- 
tains, apparently  not  more  than  a  mile  distant,  while  the  inter- 
vening valley  appeared  as  deep  as  it  was  wide.  The  slope  by 
which  we  had  to  descend  to  it  was  about  forty-five  degrees,  and 
enclosed  by  lofty  mountains,  whose  dazzling  white  and  sun-tipped 
summits  contrasted  with  its  deep  shadow,  was  rendered  still  darker 
by  the  fact  that  owing  to  the  rarefaction  of  the  air,  the  rays  of  the 
declining  sun  were  not  refracted  into  its  silent  depths.  The 
mind  was  awed  and  confused  by  the  power  of  the  contrasts,  and 
glancing  from  the  brilliant  gilding  of  the  peaks  into  the  gloomy 
chasm  before  us,  I  recalled  almost  with  a  shudder  the  vivid  im- 
pressions which  my  youthful  mind  had  received  from  Bunyan's 
description  of  the    Valley  and  Shadow  of  Death."* 

We  had,  however,  but  little  time  to  meditate  on  the  grandeur 
of  the  scene  before  us,  and  were  warned  by  the  setting  sun  of  the 
necessity  of  descending  the  mountain,  and  seeking  shelter  for  the 
night.  By  the  violent  and  -piercing  wind,  to  which  we  were 
rendered  intensely  susceptible  by  our  sudden  transition  from  the 
genial  plains  of  Chili,  we  were  thoroughly  chilled,  and  were  all,  even 
the  peons  J  who  are  proverbially  averse  to  pedestrianism,  glad  to 
dismount  and  walk  to  the  foot  of  the  ridge,  to  which  the  road, 
tended  in  numberless  zig-zags.  Had  not  the  measure  been  first 
proposed  by  my  companions,  I  should  undoubtedly  have  adopted 
it  myself,  being  so  thoroughly  numbed  that  I  could  scarce  keep 
my  seat  on  the  saddle,  while  the  steepness  of  the  slope  and  depth 
of  the  valley  was  fearful  to  look  upon,  even  from  so  trifling  an 

*  Sir  Francis  Head  remarked  when  crossing  at  this  point,  '^What 
can  be  more  beautiful?''  to  which  his  companion,  a  Cornish  miner,  after  a 
pause,  snailingly  replied :  "  Them  things^  Sir,  that  do  wear  caps  and  aprons.'' 
The  world  will  not  be  puzzled  to  decide  between  the  Earonet  and  the  Cor- 
nish man. 


174  CHILI   AND   THE   ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


elevation  as  the  back  of  a  mule.  We  were  now  in  Argentine 
territory,  as  the  narrow  ridge  forms  the  boundary  between  the 
two  republics.  Before  reaching  the  valley  it  had  been  for  some 
time  dark,  and  our  descent  was  by  no  means  pleasant,  though  the 
exercise  restored  the  warmth  to  our  frozen  limbs.  Booted  and 
spurred,  we  were  sometimes  in  danger  of  missing  our  footing  on 
the  narrow  path  and  rolling  down  the  slope,  sometimes  drag- 
ging the  mule  with  our  whole  strength,  and  again  in  danger  of 
being  trampled  by  him.  About  half-past  eight  we  reached  the 
valley,  when  we  all  remounted  and  proceeded  down  the  ravine. in 
search  of  a  resting  place,  of  which  we  were  now  much  in  need. 
After  about  an  hour's  ride,  my  companions,  after  an  earnest 
consultation  with  Astorgas'  peon,  selected  a  site  for  our 
camp.  Upon  dismounting,  I  certainly  could  not  discover  any 
desirable  features  about  the  locality  to  recommend  it  above 
the  Casucha,  which  I  knew  must  be  somewhere  in  the  vicinity, 
as  we  had  no  shelter  except  the  im.perfect  lee  afforded  by  an  im- 
mense porphyritic  rock,  weighing,  I  should  suppose,  some  hundred 
tons.  Upon  inquiry,  however,  I  found  that  its  eligibility  arose 
from  the  fact  that  our  friend  Astorga  upon  the  occasion  of  a  for- 
mer journey,  had  left  concealed  under  this  rock  two  sticks  of 
firewood  which  he  had  brought  from  below,  there  not  being  a 
trace  of  vegetation  of  any  kind  to  be  found  so  near  the  summit. 
All  was  a  bleak,  cheerless  mass  of  volcanic  rocks,  relieved  only 
to  the  sight  by  the  snowy  mountains  above  us,  and  to  the  imagina- 
tion by  the  presence  of  the  bubbling  streams,  the  crystal  clear- 
ness and  icy  coolness  of  which  would  have  been  more  acceptable 
though  less  natural  in  the  hot  plains  to  which  our  course  was 
directed.  Often  afterw^ard,  while  suIFering  on  board  the  vessel  in 
which  I  sailed  from  Buenos  Ayres  with  a  violent  attack  of  bil- 
ious fever,  did  I  revisit  these  clear  mountain  streams.  Sleeping 
or  waking  my  mind  wandered  to  every  spring,  stream.,  and  limpid 
lake  which  I  bad  ever  visited,  and  many  which  existed  only  in 
my  fever-heated  imagination,  but  it  invariably  returned  to  the 
crystal  rivulets  fed  by  the  snows  of  the  Cordillera.    On  that 


THE  CORDILLERA.  175 


riiglit,  however,  as  we  sat  shivering  around  our  meagre  fire,  in 
vain  attempting  to  shelter  ourselves  from  the  searching  breeze,  I 
am  free  to  confess  that  though  a  passionate  admirer  of  good 
water,  I  would  willingly  have  bartered  an  unlimited  quantity  of 
the  best  which  nature  could  supply  for  a  single  glass  of  not  very 
good  brandy.  Our  fire,  though  on  the  smallest  imaginable  scale, 
was  sufficiently  large  to  heat  some  water,  with  which  we  made  our 
Matte^  which  accompanied  our  frugal  repast  of  bread  and  cheese. 
As  my  supply  of  cigars  was  exhausted,  the  fire  low,  and  being 
already  past  ten  o'clock,  we  had  no  motive  for  keeping  late  hours, 
and  accordingly  produced  our  private  stock  of  blankets,  serapes^ 
cloaks,  and  ponchos  to  form  a  bed  for  the  three  of  us.  Upon 
an  examination  it  was  discovered  that  all  the  articles  in  question 
belonged  to  Astorga  or  myself,  and  that  Frederico's  entire  stock 
consisted  of  an  unlined  poncho,  which  would  afford  no  protection 
whatever,  and  under  which  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have 
slept  a  moment  on  so  cold  a  night.  My  eyes  had  been  gradually 
opening  since  our  arrival  at  St.  P'elipe,  where  I  began  to  see  how 
grossly  I  had  been  imposed  upon  by  this  plausible  individual,  and 
how  much  he  had  calculated  upon  the  results  of  my  credulity  for 
his  own  comforts  and  necessaries  during  the  journey.  I  had  paid 
him  three  pieces  for  two  mules  when  one  only  was  necessary  ; 
had  paid  all  the  expenses  of  the  journey,  when  1  ought  to  have 
paid  but  one  half ;  had  lent  him  money  which  I  already  looked 
upon  as  lost  ;  not  only  for  the  payment  of  his  passport,  but  the 
duties  upon  some  animals  which  he  had  sold  in  Santiago  ;  bought 
a  large  supply  of  horsefeed,  of  which  my  poor  mules  never  got  a 
taste,  though  the  old  black  horse  having  broken  down,  the  spare 
one  was  always  used  by  Frederico  or  his  peon.  The  feed  was 
all  absorbed  by  his  led  horse,  which  did  nothing  but  kick  the 
mules  w^ho  ventured  within  range  of  his  heels,  in  one  case  nearly 
breaking  my  leg.  His  sleekness  and  viciousness  increased,  while 
the  increasing  temerity  of  my  mules  reproached  me  daily,  and 
urged  upon  me  the  necessity  of  coming  to  an  understanding  upon 
the  subject.    But  all  these  palpaUe  evidences  of  utter  want  of 


176  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


principle,  astonished  me  less  than  the  superlative  impudence  of 
the  said  Don  Frederico  in  placing  himself  in  the  middle  of  a 
bed  to  which  he  had  contributed  nothing.  He  had  not  even  the 
claim  of  a  stranger,  who  might  have  been  enjoying  the  hospitality 
of  my  camp.  The  reader  may  perhaps  think  the  choice  of  posi- 
tion in  such  a  bed  a  matter  of  little  moment ;  but  I  assure  him 
it  was  no  such  thing,  as  the  lee  side  having  been  appropriated  by 
Astorga,  whose  perfect  right  to  a  choice  I  did  not  for  a  moment 
think  of  questioning,  as  he  had  by  far  more  coverings  than  my- 
self, and  Mr.  Frederico  having  deposited  himself  in  the  middle, 
left  me  the  outside  berth  to  windward,  where,  as  the  clothes  were 
too  narrow  to  tuck  under,  I  lay  shivering  all  night. 

I  took  off  my  spurs  by  way  of  preparation  for  repose,  and  tried 
to  nestle  myself  under  the  covering,  but  every  iflaw  of  wind  lifted 
it  on  my  side  and  sent  a  chill  through  my  limbs  which  instantly 
awakened  me  ;  then  I  turned  over  and  thawed  tha-t  side,  when  I 
would  be  again  awakened  and  compelled  to  repeat  the  operation, 
and  so  on  during  the  night — mutatis  mutandis. 

While  my  com;panero  lay  snoring  cosily  in  the  middle  of  the  bed 
I  was  vowing  a  terrible  revenge,  which  I  inflicted  afterwards  by 
exposing  his  meanness,  and  defeating,  at  the  very  moment  that  he 
thought  everything  secure,  his  attempt  at  a  further  imposition  ; 
accident  also  assisted  me  in  a  manner  which  I  little  expected,  as 
his  led  horse,  having  got  fat  and  frisky  on  my  provender,  threw 
him  off  his  back  the  first  time  he  attempted  to  mount  him  in 
Mendoza,  thus  exposing  him  to  a  torrent  of  ridicule,  besides 
hurting  him  severely,  though  not  seriously.  His  mortification  at 
finding  that  he  dare  not  mount  his  pet  horse,  avenged  me  suffi- 
ciently for  the  losses  I  had  sustained,  and  my  cold  night  in  the 
Cordillera.  To  be  a  Mendosino,  and  not  able  to  mount  any  horse 
is  not  to  be  a  gentleman.  I  doubt  even  whether  a  man's  honesty 
would  not  be  suspected  in  Mendoza  if  it  were  known  he  could 
not  ride. 

M'lrch  3. — Rose  at  day-light,  and  after  partaking  of  a  cup 
of  maite^  heated  by  the  scanty  remains  of  two  sticks  of  wood,  we 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


177 


saddled  up  and  proceeded  down  the  valley.  Although  our  sup- 
per bad  been  sufficiently  scanty,  that  of  our  mules  must  have 
been  much  more  so,  as,  by  the  light  of  day,  I  could  not  discover  the 
slightest  signs  of  vegetation,  and  of  the  extreme  cold  of  the  night, 
of  which  I  had  been  tolerably  convinced  by  my  previous  sensations, 
we  had  tangible  corroborative  evidence,  in  that  the  entire  margin 
of  the  mountain  torrent  was  firmly  frozen.  A  clear  case  of  tem- 
perature as  low  as  33"^  Fahrenheit  was  thus  made  out,  and  there 
is  no  estimating  how  much  colder  it  would  have  been  if  we  had 
been  provided  with  a  thermometer  to  have  measured  its  intensity. 
This,  too,  was  in  March,  only  the  first  month  of  autumn,  corres- 
ponding to  September  in  our  own  country,  and  from  the  severity 
of  the  weather  we  may  form  an  approximate  estimate  of  what  it 
must  be  in  winter,  these  passes  being  too  far  inland  to  have  their 
temperature  afiected  by  the  warmer  ocean  currents,  which  exer- 
cise so  powerful  an  influence  in  moderating  the  climate  ofi*  Cape 
Horn,  the  southern  extremity  of  this  continent.  We  now  pursued 
our  course  down  the  valley,  which  is  generally  about  a  mile  in 
width,  and  bounded  on  either  side  by  enormous  masses  of  por- 
phyritic  rocks.  Some  lay  in  loose  masses  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  while  others  rose  like  a  wall  in  a  single  rock,  without 
sign  of  fracture,  to  a  height  where  the  eye  could  no  longer  trace 
its  character.  Its  colours  were  various,  though  red  and  lilac  ap- 
peared to  predominate.  The  descent  was  generally  gradual, 
though  sometimes  so  abrupt  as  to  make  me  feel  the  necessity  of 
a  crupper,  which,  strange  to  say,  is  not  used  in  this  country, 
where  it  is  so  much  needed.  My  saddle  being  English,  and 
having  been  intended  for  a  horse,  was  entirely  too  large  for  my 
mule,  and,  unlike  the  recado  or  saddle  of  the  country,  the  forma- 
tion of  the  tree  would  not  admit  of  its  lacing  tight  to  the  back 
and  sides  of  the  animal.  I  had  previously  felt  the  inconvenience 
arising  from  these  defects,  and  had  been  proportionably  careful, 
but  now,  the  steepest  descents  having  been  passed,  I  relaxed  my 
vigilance,  and  while  descending  a  very  steep  hill,  more  employed 
in  staring  at  the  mountains  by  which  we  were  surrounded  than 


17S 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


in  looking  out  for  my  own  immediate  interest,  and  trusting  much 
to  the  docility  and  sagacity  of  the  mule,  his  indignation  was 
aroused  by  the  slipping  of  the  saddle,  which  he  immediately  re- 
sented by  giving  two  violent  kicks  into  the  air  with  his  hind  legs. 
As  his  head,  even  before  this  demonstration,  had  been  so  nearly 
under  me  that,  in  using  my  spurs,  I  had  to  be  careful  of  his  eyes, 
this  violent  elevation  behind  was  entirely  too  much  for  my  ecjuili- 
brium,  and,  after  performing  an  evolution  in  the  air,  I  alighted 
at  the  distance  of  some  twenty  feet  below,  on  the  flat  of  my  back, 
with  my  head  not  very  gently  pillowed  on  a  hard  though  fortu- 
nately flat  stone.  Xot  satisfied  with  the  injury  already  done,  this 
vicious  beast  of  Suoni  la  tromla^'^  memory  followed  me,  endea- 
vouring to  plant  his  fore  feet  on  my  chest.  Though  somewhat 
stunned,  I  had  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  escape  the  compli- 
ment by  rolling  down  the  hill,  when  he,  not  caring  to  follow, 
dashed  off  in  another  direction  until  he  became  entangled  by  the 
saddle,  which  Lad  completely  turned,  and  was  brought  back  by 
the  ^eons.  I  felt  much  like  enforcing  the  Mosaic  Law  against  the 
beast,  who,  with  malice  prepense"  had  endeavoured  to  take  my 
life,  but  being  unprovided  with  weapons,  he  escaped  the  effects 
of  my  first  impulses,  after  which,  of  course,  he  was  safe.  I  ac- 
cordingly put  the  saddle  in  its  place,  and,  girting  it  with  all  my 
force,  mounted  and  proceeded  on  my  way  with  very  sore  bones 
and  an  aching  head,  quite  as  well  satisfied  as  ever  with  the  saga- 
city, but  infinitely  less  credulous  in  regard  to  the  docility  of  the 
animal  upon  which  I  was  mounted.  About  10  a.  :si.  we  stopped 
and  lunched  at  the  camp  of  an  old  muleteer,  who  was  the  happy 
possessor  of  some  tough  beef,  and  a  little  wood  wherewith  to 
cook  the  same,  and  then  proceeded  on  our  route  to  where  the 
mountain  torrent  is  traversed  by  the  Puente  del  Inca,  one  of  the 
lions  of  the  Uspallata  pass.  It  is  a  natural  bridge  formed  of 
conglomerate,  evidently  cemented,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent, 
by  the  salts  which  are  abundant  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  was 
probably  a  mountain  mass  which  formerly  dammed  the  ravine, 
and  had  been  perforated  by  the  action  of  the  torrent.    As  there 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


179 


is  every  evidence  that  it  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  lofty  banks' 
of  the  ravine  which  extends  for  miles  in  either  direction,  the 
mind  is  carried  back  to  a  period  when  no  stream  flowed  through 
this  enormous  chasm,  to  a  period  when  the  climate  was  so  mild 
that  no  snow  fell  in  these  mountains,  or  when  it  was  so  severe 
that  it  never  melted.  I  see  no  other  means  of  explaining  the 
phenomena,  as  the  water  could  never  have  had  another  outlet 
from  the  extensive  valley  above,  and  it  appears  incredible  that 
the  torrent  should  have  scooped  out  this  great  chasm  for  miles, 
commencing  at  the  surface,  and  left  only  this  slight  connection 
between  the  banks,  while  its  formation  and  connection  precludes 
the  idea  of  its  having  assumed  this  position  at  a  later  period.  Its 
length  is  about  forty  and  its  breadth  about  thirty  yards.  On  the 
nmo^  jplateau^  and  within  a  few  yards  of  the  bridge,  there  is  a 
spring  of  hot  water,  and  on  a  shelf  on  the  bank,  immediately 
under  it,  are  two  others,  varying  several  degrees  in  temperature^ 
though  they  are  separated  by  but  a  few  inches  of  rock. 
Having  no  thermometer  I  was  unable  to  measure  the  temperature, 
but  estimated  their  range  at  between  eighty-five  and  one  hundred 
Fahrenheit,  and  are  probably  affected  like  the  hot  springs  of  Cau- 
quenes,  in  Chili,  by  the  season  of  the  year,  and  the  melting  of  the 
snow  in  the  mountains.  One  of  these  springs  rushes  into  its 
basin  with  such  force  that  it  is  entirely  covered  with  foam,  and 
on  the  banks,  and  on  the  bridge  overhead,  hung  stalactites  pro- 
duced by  the  vapours  arising  from  it.^ 

Leaving  the  Puente  del  Inca,  we  pursued  our  way  down  the 
valley,  following  the  left  bank  of  the  torrent,  and  at  about  1  p.  m, 
arrived  at  Punta  de  Vaca,  where  we  unloaded  our  animals,  and, 
turning  them  out  to  graze,  if,  by  great  good  fortune,  they  could 
discover  the  wherewithal  to  graze  upon,  which  I  am  sure  I  could 
not,  we  produced  our  scanty  provisions,  and  proceeded  to  dine 

^  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  cement  arising  from  these  exhalations  may 
have  prevented  the  removal  of  the  portion  of  the  plateau  forming  this 
bridge,  when  the  chasm  was  scooped  out  elsewhere  by  the  action  of  the 
torrent. 


ISO         CHILI   AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


and  take  a  siesta.    Awakening  about  4  p.  m.,  my  attention  was 
attracted  by  a  series  of  zig  zags  on  a  scarped  mountain,  which 
rose  to  the  height  of  some  fifteen  hundred  feet  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  valley.    They  looked  like  lines  traced  upon  the 
steep  earthy  slope  ;  yet,  such  was  their  regularity  that  I  could 
not  but  believe  that  they  were  the  paths  of  some  animals,  although 
I  could  hardly  realize  the  boldness  which  could  induce  them  to 
risk  themselves  on  such  a  fearful  elevation.    The  mystery  was 
speedily  solved  by  the  appearance  of  six  guanacos,  who  marched 
in  a  stately  and  dignified  manner  over  the  crest  of  the  mountain 
in  a  single  file,  and  with  every  evidence  of  confidence  in  their 
narrow  foothold,  commenced  descending  the  path.    Saddling  up, 
we  crossed  the  Eio  de  las  Vacas,  a  deep  and  rapid  torrent,  filled 
in  many  cases  with  moveable  stones  of  considerable  size.  The 
ford  is  a  bad  one,  especially  in  the  afternoon  when  the  heat  of 
the  sun  has  melted  the  snows  on  the  mountains,  and  I  felt  men- 
tally relieved  when  my  mule  had  lumbered  through  the  stream, 
perfectly  content  with  the  compromise  of  a  pair  of  wet  legs.  On 
the  level  space,  near  the  eastern  margin  of  this  river,  large  piles 
of  stones  irregularly  placed  mark  the  position  of  one  of  the  can- 
tonments of  the  army  of  San  Martin,  during  his  extraordinary 
campaign  for  the  liberation  of  Chili.    Pursuing  our  route,  we 
arrived  a  little  after  dark  at  a  singular  cave  or  grotto  on  the  right 
of  the  road,  which  was  occupied  by  some  eight  or  ten  muleteers, 
on  their  way  to  Valparaiso  for  merchandize.    It  was  merely  a 
semicircular  excavation  about  fifteen  feet  in  depth,  with  a  rocky 
floor  and  ceiling,  and  probably  owed  its  origin  to  an  extraordinary 
freshet.    Around  its  entrance  were  placed  the  cargo,  pack  saddles, 
and  other  furniture  of  the  mules,  in  distinct  heaps,  and  a  semi- 
circular form,  corresponding  to  that  of  the  interior  of  the  grotto, 
while  in  the  neighbourhood  the  mules, under  the  watchful  care  of  the 
7}iadrina^  or  bell-mare,  sought  a  scanty  supper  among  the  barren 
rocks.    The  dark  and  smoky  walls  of  the  cavern,  lighted  up  by  a 
fire  in  the  centre,  around  which  were  grouped  the  2)eons  in  their 
fantastic  costumes,  and  in  the  picturesque  attitudes  assumed  by 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


181 


men  thoroughly  at  their  ease,  and  utterly  unaccustomed  to  the 
use  of  straight-back  chairs,  recalled  forcibly  to  my  mind  the  de- 
scription of  a  bandit  encampment,  as  vividly  portrayed  in  many 
of  the  popular  novels  of  the  early  part  of  the  present  century. 
These,  however,  were  no  robbers,  but  gente  dt  hieUj  honest  people 
in  pursuit  of  their  ordinary  avocations ;  and  upon  our  entrance 
they  greeted  us  hospitably,  making  way  for  us  at  the  fire,  and 
assigning  to  me,  as  a  stranger,  the  seat  of  honour,  occupied  on  our 
arrival  by  the  owner  of  the  troupe.  We  were  kindly  invited  to 
encamp  with  them,  and  join  in  the  supper  which  was  preparing, 
and,  upon  declining,  cigars  were  produced,  which  were  by  no 
means  unacceptable,  as  mine  had  given  out  the  day  before.  On 
learning  this  fact,  our  friend  the  muleteer  hoped  that  "the  patron" 
would  do  him  the  favour  to  accept  a  bundle,  assuring  me  that  he 
had  an  abundance  for  his  journey  across  the  mountains,  and  that, 
moreover,  when  they  gave  out  he  could  resort  to  cigaritos  to  which 
the  cahelleros  from  foreign  parts  were  not  accustomed.  Courtesy 
would  have  compelled  my  acceptance,  even  had  selfishness  been 
allowed  to  have  no  voice  in  the  matter  ;  and  as  I  thanked  him  for 
his  little  present  my  heart  re-opened  toward  mankind,  and  I  thought 
that,  after  all,  though  one  might  be  occasionally  cheated  and 
forced  to  sleep  on  the  windy  side  of  a  bed  on  a  cold  night,  there 
was  still  much  disinterested  kindness  in  out-of-the-way  corners, where 
we  had  little  right  to  expect  it.  We  now  heard  the  cheerful  cries 
of  our  peons  encouraging  the  mules  as  they  drove  them  up  the 
hill,  where  the  road  passed  nearly  over  our  heads,  so  we  took  a 
kindly  leave  of  the  hospitable  strangers,  and  continued  our  route 
to  the  Penon  Rajada^  or  riven  stone  which  had  already  been  se- 
lected as  a  resting  place  for  the  night.  This  rock  had  been  broken 
off  from  some  mountain  mass  overhead,  and  had  rolled  into  its 
present  position  by  the  road  side,  where  its  summit  overhung  its  base 
so  far  that  it  afforded  a  very  good  shelter  for  three  persons.  It 
certainly  looked  far  from  secure,  and  the  idea  of  its  toppling  over 
and  crushing  the  sleeping  traveller  cannot  but  occur  to  any  one 
who  takes  refuge  under  it  ;  yet,  the  fact  that  it  had  occupied  its 
0 


382         CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


present  position  since  the  discovery  of  the  country,  more  than 
three  centuries  ago,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  stability  to  induce 
one  to  risk  one  more  night  in  preference  to  braving  the  dews  and 
cold  mountain  breeze.  Owincj;  to  the  existence  of  a  laro-e  stone 
near  the  base  of  our  enormous  shelter,  which  must  have  weighed 
several  hundred  tons,  it  was  rather  close  quarters  for  three,  and 
as  Don  Frederico  again  selected  the  middle,  and  Astorga  the  in- 
side, I  was  obliged  to  accommodate  my  person  to  its  rough  surface 
as  well  as  I  could.  The  mildness  of  this  night,  compared  with 
the  last,  had  evidently  affected  the  spirits  of  my  companions, 
who,  until  a  very  late  hour,  saBg  national  songs,  among  which 
one  called  Padre  Francisco''  was  exceedingly  humorous,  though 
by  no  means  complimentary  to  the  reverend  clergy.  I  had  few. 
opportunities  of  observing  during  this  journey  the  deportment 
of  the  priesthood,  who,  though  treated  respectfully  by  the  people, 
appear  to  inspire  them  ^ith  very  little  reverence.  Those  I  met 
were  generally  jolly,  rotund,  good-natured  fellows,  with  no  small 
capacity  for  strong  drink,  and  very  great  liberality  of  feeling  ia 
regard  to  heretics. 

March  4. — Having  drank  our  matte  we  set  out,  and  after 
travelling  about  a  league,  fell  in  with  a  large  troop  of  mules  in 
a  bivouac,  and  among  the  travellers  were  several  women,  who 
were  in  the  act  of  rising  from  their  mattrasses  which  were  spread 
upon  the  ground,  and  making  their  toilette  preparatory  to  setting 
out.  There  were  also  some  children  too  young  to  be  trusted  on 
horseback,  and  who  were  transported  in  panniers  slung  upon  the 
back  of  a  careful  mule.  This  is  the  ordinary  means  of  locomo- 
tion ;  and  provided  the  traveller  have  not  a  pair,  provisions,  or 
in  default  of  them,  a  stone  is  put  in  the  opposite  pannier  to 
balance  the  juvenile  equestrian.  Leaving  these  travellers,  who 
shared  with  us  their  coffee,  and  bearing  a  present  of  pound-cake 
with  which  the  benevolent  ladies — Heaven  bless  them — ^had  sup- 
plied us,  we  proceeded  on  the  first  lade^'a—one  of  the  three  for- 
midable passes  of  the  Andes.  Of  these  three  dangerous  passes 
I  had  heard  much,  and  am  scarce  prepared  to  say  whether  they 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


183 


were  more  or  less  formidable  than  I  anticipated.  The  name 
ladera  is  applied  to  a  narrow  path  extending  some  distance  along 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  which  is  perpendicular  on  one  side, 
and  nearly,  or  quite  so,  on  the  other.  In  its  narrowest  part,  the 
width,  I  think,  was  scarce  less  than  three  feet,  although  an  occasional 
stone  which  has  fallen  from  above  forces  the  mule  to  the  extreme 
edge  of  the  path,  where  the  traveller,  should  he  be  willing  to 
trust  his  head  and  look  toward  the  precipice,  will  see  nothing 
but  the  deep  ravine  and  furious  torrent,  in  some  places  several 
hundred  feet  beneath.  Were  this  narrow  shelf  level  the  danger 
would  not  be  so  great,  but  the  inequalities  make  them  fearful  to 
those  unaccustomed  to  mountain  travelling  ;  and  I  can  compare 
my  own  feelings,  as  my  mule  smelt  his  way  along  the  narrow 
descent  with  his  nose  almost  between  his  legs,  his  short  neck, 
and  the  path  entirely  invisible,  only  to  those  of  a  man  sliding 
slowly  down  a  very  steep  roof  in  a  disagreeable  state  of  uncer- 
tainty as  to  whether  the  gutter  or  trough  at  the  eaves  will  sus- 
tain his  weight  upon  his  arrival.  The  ladera  of  las  Vacas^  the 
third  and  last  pass,  is  decidedly  the  worst,  and  at  one  point  the 
narrow  path  suddenly  bends  nearly  at  right  angles  to  its  former 
direction,  while  the  precipice  on  either  side  is  perpendicular^ 
To  this  point  the  ascent  is  very  steep  on  either  side,  and  the 
path  over  the  rock  completely  perforated  by  the  various  passing 
animals,  which  are  obliged  to  step  exactly  in  each  other's  foot- 
steps, in  default  of  which  they  would  probably  stumble,  when 
mule  and  rider  must  inevitably  be  destroyed.  In  making  this 
dangerous  turn,  the  mule  must  bend  himself  nearly  double,  and 
the  traveller  must  guard  against  the  danger  of  having  his  leg 
crushed  against  the  rock,  which  might  not  only  injure  him  seri- 
ously, but  might  also  destroy  the  equilibrium  of  his  animal. 
Passing  this,  the  most  trying  point,  I  could  not  but  hope  while 
descending  the  steep  slope  beyond  it,  that  my  slippery  crupper- 
less  saddle  might  not  serve  me  the  trick  it  did  on  the  day  before, 
as  the  consequences  in  this  case  would  be  more  serious.  We 
all  passed  safely,  and  there  was  no  one  who  did  not  feel  relieved. 


1S4 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


it  being  a  danger  to  which  men  would  never  become  indifferent. 
Had  we  met  a  troupe  of  mules  in  this  path,  the  result  would  have 
been  fatal  to  some,  if  not  all  the  animals,  and  perhaps  to  our- 
selves, as  there  were  many  places  where  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  dismount,  much  less  to  have  turned  back.  Many 
persons  will  tell  a  traveller  that  it  is  safer  to  traverse  these 
passes  on  a  mule  than  on  foot.  This  is  an  absurdity,  as  the  sure 
footedness  of  a  mule  is  not  greater  than  that  of  a  man,  while  its 
sagacity  will  not  compare  with  his  reason.  It  not  unfrequently 
occurs  that  the  earth  near  the  precipice  becomes  insecure,  and 
the  mule,  as  long  as  he  sees  the  tracks  of  his  fellows,  will  ven- 
ture upon  it,  while  man,  warned  by  the  indications,  will  avoid  it. 
Again,  should  a  mule  suddenly  take  fright  and  start,  as  they 
frequently  do  under  other  circumstances,  it  would  be  fatal  to 
both. 

In  the  account  given  of  the  passage  of  this  ladera  by  Sir 
Francis  Head,  there  is  a  fine  piece  of  description,  which  em- 
bodies-so  many  characteristics  of  the  patient,  long-suffering  mule, 
that  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  quoting  it  entire  for  the 
benefit  of  my  readers,  hoping  that  they  may  derive  from  it  the 
same  gratification  which  it  has  afforded  me.  To  most  persons 
an  additional  charm  must  attach  itself  to  this  description,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  from  it  is  derived  a  picture  illustrative  of  moun- 
tain travel  in  South  America,  which  is  found  in  the  school  books 
upon  geography,  from  which  most  of  the  present  generation  in 
our  country  derived  the  rudiments  of  that  science  : — 

"  As  soon  as  the  leading  mule  came  to  the  commencement 
of  the  pstss,  he  stopped,  evidently  unwilling  to  proceed,  and,  of 
course,  all  the  rest  stopped  also. 

He  was  the  finest  mule  we  had,  and  on  that  account  had 
twice  as  much  to  carry  as  any  of  the  others  ;  his  load  had  never 
been  relieved,  and  it  consisted  of  four  portmanteaus,  two  of 
which  belonged  to  me,  and  contained  not  only  a  very  heavy  bag 
of  dollars,  but  also  papers,  which  were  of  such  consequence  that 
I  could  hardly  have  contiuued  my  journey  without  them.  The 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


185 


peons  now  redoubled  their  cries,  and  leaning  over  the  sides  of 
their  mules,  and  picking  up  stones,  they  threw  them  at  the  lead- 
ing mule,  who  now  commenced  his  journey  over  the  path. 
With  his  nose  to  the  ground,  literally  smelling  his  way,  he 
walked  gently  on,  often  changing  the  position  of  his  feet  if  he 
found  the  ground  would  not  bear,  until  he  came  to  the  bad  part 
of  the  pass,  when  he  again  stopped ;  and  I  then  certainly  began 
to  look  with  great  anxiety  at  my  portmanteaus  ;  but  the  peons 
again  threw  stones  at  him,  and  he  continued  his  path,  and 
reached  me  in  safety ; — several  others  followed.  At  last  a  young 
mule  carrying  a  portmanteau,  with  two  large  sacks  of  provisions, 
and  many  other  things,  in  passing  the  bad  point  struck  his  load 
against  the  rock,  which  knocked  his  two  hind  legs  over  the  pre- 
cipice, and  the  loose  stones  immediately  began  to  roll  away  from 
under  them  ;  however,  his  fore  legs  were  still  upon  the  narrow 
path  ;  he  had  no  room  to  put  his  head  there,  but  he  placed  his 
nose  on  the  path  on  his  left,  and  appeared  to  hold  on  by  his 
mouth.  His  perilous  fate  was  soon  decided  by  a  loose  mule  who 
came  up,  and  in  walking  along  after  him,  knocked  his  comrade's 
nose  off  the  path,  destroyed  his  balance,  and  head  over  heels  the 
poor  creature  instantly  commenced  a  fall  which  was  really  quite 
terrific.  With  all  his  baggage  firmly  lashed  to  him,  he  rolled 
down  the  steep  slope  until  he  came  to  the  part  which  was  per- 
pendicular, and  there  he  seemed  to  bound  off,  and  turning  round 
in  the  air  fell  into  a  deep  torrent  on  his  back  and  upon  his  bag- 
gage, and  instantly  disappeared.  I  thought,  of  course,  that  he 
was  killed  ;  but  up  he  rose,  looking  wild  and  scared,  and  imme- 
diately endeavoured  to  stem  the  torrent  which  was  foaming  about 
him.  It  was  a  noble  effort,  and  for  a  moment  he  seemed  to 
succeed,  but  the  eddy  suddenly  caught  the  great  load  which  was 
upon  his  back,  and  turned  him  completely  over  ;  down  went  his 
head  with  all  the  baggage,  and  as  he  was  carried  down  the 
stream,  all  I  saw  were  his  hindquarters,  and  his  long,  thin,  wet 
tail  lashing  the  water.  As  suddenly,  however,  up  his  head 
came  again  ;  but  he  was  now  weak,  and  went  down  the  stream 


1S6  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


turned  round  and  round  by  the  eddy^  until  passing  the  corner 
of  the  rock  I  lost  sight  of  him.  I  saw,  however,  the  peons  with 
lassos  in  their  hands,  run  down  the  side  of  the  torrent  for  some 
little  distance  ;  but  they  soon  stopped,  and  after  looking  toward 
the  poor  mule  for  some  seconds,  their  earnest  attitude  gradually 
relaxed,  and  when  they  walked  toward  me  I  concluded  that  all 
was  over.  I  walked  up  to  the  peons,  and  was  just  going  to 
speak  to  them  when  I  saw  at  a  distance  a  solitary  mule  walk- 
ing toward  us. 

"  We  instantly  perceived  that  he  was  the  Phaeton  whose  fall 
we  had  just  witnessed,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  came  up  to  us 
to  join  his  comrades.  He  was,  of  course,  dripping  wet ;  his 
eye  looked  dull,  and  his  whole  countenance  was  dejected;  how- 
ever, none  of  his  bones  were  broken,  he  was  very  little  cut,  and 
the  bulletin  of  his  health  was  altogether  incredible. 

"  With  that  surprising  anxiety  which  the  mules  all  have  to 
join  the  troop,  or  rather  the  leading  mule  which  carries  the  bell, 
he  continued  his  course,  and  actually  walked  over  the  pass  with- 
out compulsion,  though  certainly  with  great  caution." 

The  great  dangers  and  difficulties  which  we  had  to  encounter 
from  mountain  travel  were  now  passed,  and  we  proceeded 
rapidly  down  the  valley,  the  slope  of  which  had  become  more 
gradual.  At  about  noon  we  stopped  on  the  banks  of  a  clear 
mountain  stream,  which  we  had  crossed  by  a  rude  stone  bridge 
with  a  single  arch,  and  breakfasted  upon  the  cakes  so  kindly 
provided  us  by  the  warm-hearted  Mendosinos.  Soon  after  we 
left,  for  the  last  time,  the  muddy  and  turbid  torrent  which  we 
had  so  long  accompanied,  and  struck  across  a  shingly  plain,  pro- 
ducing some  low  bushes  and  watered  by  a  single  rivulet  of  clear 
cold  water.  The  torrent  which  we  left,  increased  as  it  was  by 
numerous  alliances,  had  become  a  considerable  stream,  and 
flowed  with  less  violence  than  nearer  its  source  toward  the 
plains,  where  it  is  absorbed  and  lost  in  the  sandy  soil.  At  about 
2  P.M.,  our  eyes  were  delighted  with  the  sight  of  the  fertile 
valley  of  Uspallata,  which,  clothed  in  green  by  its  various  grains 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


187 


and  grasses,  and  watered  by  a  rivulet  of  clear  cold  water,  was  a 
pleasing  relief  to  the  eye  after  our  three  days'  travel  among  the 
rocks  and  snow  of  the  Cordillera.  The  valley  is  some  six  miles 
in  length  and  two  in  breadth,  and  contains  only  one  establish- 
ment of  several  small  houses  and  some  unused  furnaces  belong- 
ing to  the  copper  mines,  which  were  formerly  wrought  in  this 
neighbourhood.  This  is  the  Custom  House  station  of  Mendoza, 
and  we  were  received  very  affably  by  the  Captain  of  the  Guard 
and  his  buxom  wife,  who  were  acquaintances  of  my  co7npanero 
Frederico.  A  room  was  assigned  to  us  in  one  of  the  unoccupied 
huts,  and  a  dinner  served  to  us  with  the  family.  In  the  evening, 
for  want  of  other  occupation,  I  numbered  the  dogs  in  the  court- 
yard, where  twenty  stood  in  a  single  group,  as  gaunt  and  ferocious 
as  so  many  half-starved  wolves.  I  did  not  need  the  caution 
which  our  hostess  gave  me  not  to  venture  out  of  the  house  at 
night  unless  accompanied  by  a  peon,  as  I  felt  certain  of  being 
torn  to  pieces  for  food  if  from  no  other  motive.  Like  the  negro 
slave  in  our  country,  and  the  poor  generally  all  the  world  over, 
the  guacho  of  the  plains  .delights  in  being  surrounded  by  formi- 
dable dogs,  and  is  seldom  found,  except  far  from  his  home , 
unaccompanied  by  some  half  a  dozen.  Bertoldo,  the  peon,  had 
laudably  availed  himself  of  an  idle  afternoon  to  celebrate  his 
return  to  a  civilized  region  by  becoming  gloriously  drunk,  and  in 
that  condition  afforded  me  some  amusement  at  the  same  time 
that  he  annoyed  me.  L^pon  one  subject  he  declared  his  mind 
was  made  up — that  he  would  never  leave  me  until  my  arrival  in 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  would  accompany  me  as  my  peon  with  or 
without  my  permission,  or  a  compensation  for  his  services.  Kum 
is  a  sad  leveller,  an  unmitigated  Red  Republican,  and  I  could 
never  have  realized  the  great  similarity  that  really  exists  between 
a  drunken  English  or  American  sailor  and  a  drunken  guacho. 
Our  beds  were  made  on  the  floor,  and  Astorga  and  myself  were 
about  to  retire  when  we  were  honoured  by  a  visit  from  our  land- 
lady and  landlord,  the  Captain  of  the  G-uard,  who  came  with  the 
intention  of  having  a  cosy  game  of  cards  with  Don  Frederico. 


1S3  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROYTNCES. 


As  they  did  not  appear  to  stand  on  ceremony  with  us,  I  deter- 
mined to  shew  my  appreciation  of  the  compliment  by  not  con- 
sidering them  as  strangers,  and  quietly  turned  in  and  soon 
smoked  myself  to  sleep,  not,  howeyer,  before  I  saw  the  escudo 
which  Don  Frederico  had  obtained  from  me  this  afternoon  to 
meet  necessary  expences,  transferred  in  the  progress  of  the  game 
to  the  captain  and  his  worthy  spouse. 

March  5. — -Started  about  6  a.m.,  and  pursued  our  way 
down  the  Uspallata  valley,  the  level  road  winding  among  numer- 
ous hills  of  no  great  elevation.  Stopping  at  a  very  small  spring 
to  refresh  ourselves,  and  await  the  arrival  of  our  baggage,  Don 
Frederico  gave  me  a  farther  insight  into  his  character,  by  produc- 
ing the  sealed  letter  of  the  Captain  of  the  Guard,  in  which  our 
arrival,  and  the  character  of  our  baggage,  was  announced  to  his 
superior  in  Mendoza,  and  attempted  to  read  it  by  opening  it  as  far 
as  he  could  without  breaking  the  seal.  He  would,  I  believe,  have 
even  proceeded  to  that  extremity,  had  I  not  entered  my  protest 
against  such  a  breach  of  trust  being  committed  in  my  presence, 
Yery  much  to  my  surprise  Astorga,  with  whom  my  short  inter- 
course had  favourably  impressed  me,  made  no  objections  ;  and 
when  I  conversed  with  him  afterward,  found  that  his  views  upon 
this  subject  did  not  coincide  with  my  own,  and  that  the  fact  of 
the  letter  having  an  immediate  relation  to  its  bearer,  and  being 
official,  he  seemed  to  believe  gave  him  a  right  to  obtain  a  know- 
ledge of  its  contents.  This  may  be  the  code  of  morality  in  this 
country,  and  may  be  generally  conceded,  in  which  case,  of 
course,  it  would  be  unfair  to  judge  individuals  by  our  own  severe 
standard. 

About  noon  we  arrived  at  the  Paramillo,  an  elevated  table- 
land, from  whence  we  had  a  distant  view  of  the  Pampas,  which, 
seen  through  the  haze,  strikingly  resembled  the  ocean.  A  strong 
breeze  appears  to  blow  at  this  point  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
at  least  so  I  was  informed  by  my  compaoions,  and  find  their 
statements  corroborated  by  former  travellers.  Gold  mines  are 
wrought  with  advantage  at  several  points  on  this  plateau. 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


189 


■  When,  upon  our  arrival  at  Uspallata,  I  congratulated  myself 
upon  having  overcome  the  descent  and  attained  the  level  of  the 
Pampas,  I  was  very  much  mistaken,  as  leaving  the  Paramillo 
we  descended  by  a  steep  declivity  into  a  narrower  ravine  (Cajon 
of  Yilla  Vicencio),  and  continued  to  descend  without  intermission 
for  the  next  ten  miles,  until  our  arrival  at  Villa  Yicencio.  This 
\  ravine  was  very  picturesque,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  finest  pass 

in  the  whole  route,  though  wanting  the  massy  grandeur  of  the 
mountain  scenery  above  Uspallata.  After  travelling  about  forty- 
five  miles,  we  arrived  at  Villa  Yicencio  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  made  our  arrangements  to  pass  the  night.  Its 
ostentatious  name  and  place  on  the  map  would  have  induced  me 
to  expect  at  least  a  village,  had  not  Darwin's  Journal  of  a  Natu- 
ralist" informed  me  beforehand  that  it  consisted  of  a  single  hut. 
It  had  a  local  celebrity  for  the  Hot  Springs  in  its  neighbourhood, 
to  which  invalids  in  former  times  resorted  for  the  benefit  of  the 
waters.  They  are  now  unfi^equented,  either  because  they  have 
lost  their  reputation,  or  because  of  their  inaccessibility  and  dis- 
tance from  Mendoza.  They  are  some  distance  from  the  house — 
about  a  league,  I  believe,  and  I  did  not  see  thom.  No  one 
alluded  to  them  in  my  presence,  and  I  had  ridden  forty-five  miles 
since  morning,  and  the  last  ten  down  hill,  and  I  was  tired  ;  so 
lying  down  in  front  of  4he  house  on  my  sarajpe^  smoking  a  pipe 
in  lieu  cf  a  cigar,  and  attempting  at  intervals,  though  not  very 
successfully,  to  make  friends  with  a  .domesticated  guanaco  which 
belonged  to  the  establishment,  I  forgot  entirely  that  my  previous 
reading  had  ever  made  me  aware  of  their  existence.  It  was 
only  upon  my  arrival  in  Mendoza  that  I  was  reminded  of  them 
by  some  inquiries  which  were  addressed  to  me  on  the  subject. 
It  thus  frequently  happens  that  the  descriptions  of  travellers 
vary  so  much  as  to  induce  a  notorious  incredulity  among 
readers ;  but  because  something  is  unmentioned  by  a  more  re- 
cent traveller  which  had  been  noticed  by  a  former  one,  is  no 
evidence  of  its  non-existence.  Darwin  gives  a  long  description 
of  these  Springs,  which  I  had  read  more  than  once,  and  I  did 


190 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


not  see  them,  while  I  observed  the  Hot  Springs  at  the  Puente 
del  Inca,  which,  I  think,  he  passed  entirely  unnoticed,  even  when 
speaking  of  the  bridge.  The  good  wife  gave  us  our  casmla  by 
candle-light,  and  we  were  not  tardy  in  retiring,  each  one,  even 
the  women  and  children,  making  their  beds  in  front  of  the  house 
in  the  open  air.  Having  observed  this  community  of  sleeping 
apartments  with  some  surprise  upon  turning  in — retiring,  though 
more  elegant,  can  scarcely  be  considered  appropriate  under  the 
circumstances — I  was  somewhat  startled  upon  finding  that  I  had 
a  bedfellow  when  I  awoke  during  the  night.  Cautiously  recon- 
noitering,  I  discovered  that  it  was  only  the  guanaco,  which,  at- 
tracted doubtless  by  the  warmth  of  my  covering,  had  laid  him- 
self down  close  alongside  of  me.  Being  fond  of  aniaials,  and 
pleased  with  his  confidence,  and  flattering  myself  that  he  had 
discovered  by  my  countenance  that  I  was  a  good-natured  fellow, 
I  did  not  disturb  him. 

March  6. — Don  Frederico  being  now  near  home,  and  anxious 
to  see  the  misguided  little  woman  who,  in  an  evil  hour,  had  a  few 
weeks  before  consented  to  become  his  bride,  roused  us  out  a 
little  after  midnight  ;  but  owing  to  the  delays  of  Bertoldo,  who 
had  not  entirely  recovered  from  his  jollification,  and  had  pro- 
bably no  especial  motive  to  hasten  him,  being  either  an  unmar- 
ried man  or  an  old  married  man,  we  didinot  start  until  about  2 
A.M.  We  soon  cleared  the  Cajon,  or  ravine,  after  which  we 
descended  gradually  through  a  dry  and  consequently  sterile 
country  to  a  line  of  hills  of  a  moderate  height,  apparently  the 
banks  of  the  sea  or  a  great  lake  in  a  former  geological  period, 
and  at  present  the  boundary  of  the  extensive  plains  which  reach 
the  Atlantic.  At  daylight  I  found  that  we  had  by  some  means 
picked  up  a  travelling  companion,  a  good-natured  eldevlj  guacko, 
but  where  he  joined  us  I  never  learned — whether  at  Villa  Yicen- 
cio  or  in  the  Cajon  before  it  was  light ;  but  of  one  fact  in  con- 
nection with  him  I  am  well  assured,  that  without  his  assistance 
we  should  have  made  a  sorry  breakfast. 

Having  reached  the  edge  of  the  plain  we  met  a  young  guacho 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


1 


on  his  return  from  Mendoza,  who  was  found  to  bo  the  possessor 
of  two  loaves  of  bread,  which  my  companions  jestingly  demanded, 
and  he  willingly  gave  them  when  he  learned  that  we  had  not 
breakfasted.  I  offered  money  to  pay  him  for  the  bread  and  his 
trouble,  and  to  reward  his  charitableness,  but  found  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  prevailing  on  him  to  accept  it.  He  appeared  to 
think  himself  fully  compensated  by  being  permitted  to  observe 
the  ravenous  manner  in  which  we  devoured  the  loaves  which  he 
had  carried  some  thirty  miles,  and  which  he  perhaps  intended  as 
a  present  to  his  sister  or  sweetheart 

Although  dry  bread  is  a  rarity  and  a  luxury  to  these  rude  in- 
habitants of  the  plains,  we  found  it  without  water  by  no  means 
savoury,  and  no  little  satisfaction  was  expressed  by  the  whole 
party  when  the  old  guacho^  who  had  this  morning  joined  us,  pro- 
duced from  a  leather  bag  a  quantity  of  charqiu^  or  jerked  beef, 
pounded  into  a  sort  of  coarse  flour.  The  charqui  and  our  morn- 
ing ride  gave  such  a  rare  flavour  to  our  bread,  that  we  made  an 
excellent  breakfast,  and  I  can  honestly  recommend  the  use  of  it 
to  any  traveller,  as  being  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
nutritious  and  portable  articles  of  food  that  I  have  met  with  dur- 
ing my  various  journeys. 

Between  us  and  Mendoza  lay  a  barren  plain  or  travcsia  of 
some  thirty  miles  without  water.  Stones,  stunted  bushes,  and 
dry  sand  were  its  staple  productions,  and  it  seemed  as  if  its  bed 
of  sand  had  formerly  been  under  water,  and  the  receptacle  of  the 
stones  brought  down  by  the  mountain  torrents. 

As  the  heat  was  great,  the  view  uninteresting,  and  the  neces- 
sity for  sparing  our  animals  less  urgent  than  heretofore,  we 
travelled  rapidly,  being  especially  incited  thereto  by  the  impa- 
tience of  Frederico.  During  our  transit,  Astorga  availed  himself 
of  the  fact  of  our  being  alone  to  consult  with  me  relative  to  tak- 
ing up  our  quarters  at  Frederico's  house,  or  rather  that  of  his 
father-in-law,  which  he  had  also  been  invited  to  do.  He  ex- 
pressed his  dislike  and  suspicion  of  his  good  faith,  upon  which  I 
informed  him  of  the  result  of  my  own  experience.    It  was  then 


192  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


determined  that  we  should  both  refuse  aad  go  to  a  fonda.  From 
this  judicious  determination  we  were  not  persuaded  but  abso- 
lutely forced,  in  the  sequel,  being  positively  informed  that  there 
was  no  place  of  public  entertainment  in  the  city,  and  were 
finally  obliged  to  take  up  our  quarters  in  conformance  with  the 
pressing  invitation.  There  we  remained  together  for  three  days, 
when,  much  to  my  regret,  Astorga  set  out  for  his  native  city  of 
San  Juan,  urging  upon  me  at  leave-taking,  notwithstanding  my 
repeated  refusals,  the  acceptance  of  his  two  heavy  blankets,  the 
possession  of  which  I  envied  him  so  much  during  the  cold  nights 
we  had  passed  in  the  Cordillera.  As  the  weather  in  the  plains 
at  this  season  is  mild,  I  really  did  not  wish  to  be  troubled  with 
his  handsome  present^  but  finding  I  could  not  refuse  any  longer 
without  wounding  his  feelings,  I  finally  accepted  them,  and  gave 
them  to  the  courier  upon  my  arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres.  Through- 
out my  whole  association  with  this  gentleman,  I  found  him  kind, 
urbane,  generous,  and  obliging,  and  should  be  most  happy  to 
have  an  opportunity  at  some  future  time  to  return  the  kindness 
in  my  own  country  which  I  invariably  received  from  him  in 
mountain  and  plain,  where  he  always  stood  as  a  wayside  com- 
panion, in  glaring  relief  to  the  man  who  had  been  recommended 
to  me,  and  to  whose  honour  I  had  confided  my  interests,  and 
who,  according  to  the  principles  of  hospitality,  as  understood 
and  practised  by  even  the  most  barbarous  people,  ought  to  have 
'sacredly  guarded  them  instead  of  taking  the  lead  in  petty  impo- 
sitions. 

In  the  suburbs  of  the  city  we  stopped  at  a  hut  to  drink  water, 
of  which  we  were  much  in  want,  as  there  is,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  none  on  the  road  after  leaving  Villa  Yicencio.  We  also 
ate  some  water-melons,  which  here  attain  great  perfection.  The 
woman  who  waited  upon  us,  as  also  the  remainder  of  the  family, 
the  young  children  only  excepted,  suffered  from  the  disgusting 
deformity  produced  by  the  goitre — a  disease,  as  we  afterwards 
discovered,  pervading  every  class  of  society  in  Mendoza.  Our 
hostess,  Don  Froderico's  mother,  was  rendered  hideous  by  a  goitre^ 


THE  CORDILLERA. 


193 


while  the  swelling  neck  of  his  young  and  otherwise  pretty  wife 
displayed  it  in  its  incipiency,  Mendoza,  the  "  City  of  the  Plains," 
presents  from  the  distance  an  unimposing  appearance,  being  on 
perfectly  level  ground,  and  so  surrounded  by  poplars  that  scarcely 
a  habitation  is  seen  until  its  streets  are  entered. 

The  surrounding  barrier  once  passed,  its  suburbs  are  pleasing, 
each  cottage  being  shaded  by  trees  and  surrounded  by  a  garden 
filled  with  fruit-trees,  or  planted  with  clover  as  a  pasturage  for 
their  animals.  The  luscious  green  of  this  grass  was  a  most 
pleasing,  relief  to  the  eye  after  dwelling  on  the  barren  rocks  of 
the  Cordillera,  or  the  parched  and  arid  fravesia  ;  and  I  could 
not  but  inwardly  express  the  hope  that  if,  like  the  old  Baby- 
lonian king,  Nebuchadnezzar,  I  should  ever  be  turned  out  to 
grass,  that  my  lot  might  be  cast  in  such  clover  patches  as  abound 
in  the  suburbs  of  Mendoza.  Advancing  into  the  city  it  became 
more  populous,  better  built,  and  better  paved,  and  about  2  p.m. 
we  dismounted  in  the  courtyard  of  Don  Frederico's  father-in-law, 
where  we  were  received  with  courtesy,  and  a  room  assigned  for 
our  joint  accommodation  during  our  sojourn. 


CHAFfER  XIIL 


MENDOZA. 


March  7. —Rose  early,  when,  after  taking  my  matte^''''  I  was 
informed  by  Don  Frederico  and  his  f\ither-in-law,  that  I  must 
visit  the  police-office  to  have  my  passport  viseed^  and  that  as  a 
preliminary  step  I  must  mount  the  red  ribbon,  the  devisa  of  the 
dominant  party,  on  my  hat,  and  in  the  button-hole  of  my  coat. 
To  this  I  stoutly  objected,  but  finding  that  my  host  was  becoming 
alarmed  for  his  own  safety  in  the  event  of  my  refusal,  and  that 
without  these  badges  I  could  not  obtain  access  to  the  government 
house,  I  submitted,  and  marched  ofi°  with  Frederico,  as  patriotic 
a  federalist  to  all  appearance  as  might  be  seen  in  the  streets  of 
Mendoza.  The  entrance  to  the  police  office,  which  with  other 
government  offices  opened  upon  an  area,  was  guarded  by  armed 
men.  Soldiers,  I  cannot  call  them,  as  they  had  neither  uniform, 
drill,  or  discipline,  and  were  altogether,  the  most  brigandish  look- 
ing wretches  I  have  ever  met  in  South  America  or  elsewhere. 
The  troops  of  her  Majesty  Ranavolano,  the  reigning  queen  of 
Madagascar  at  the  period  of  my  visit  in  1844,  were  well- 
disciplined  troops  and  mild-mannered  gentlemen  in  comparison. 
After  displaying  my  passport  to  the  chief  of  the  police,  himself  a 
rude  and  brutal  personage,  I  enquired  if  he  were  satisfied,  and 
receiving  an  affirmative  reply,  pointed  to  my  devisa^  and  asked 
him  whether  I  had  been  rightly  informed  and  would  be  'obliged 
to  wear  it.  He  answered  in  the  affirmative,  when  I  informed 
him  that  I  looked  upon  these  badges  as  evidences  of  partizanship 


MENDOZA. 


195 


that  this  was  the  device  of  the  federal  party,  and  that  blue  was 
worn  by  the  Unitarians  as  also  by  the  Montevideans ^  with 
which  republic  the  Argentine  Confederation  was  at  war.  At  the 
same  time  the  United  States  held  amicable  relations  with  the 
republic  of  Monte  Video,  and  would  not  consider  one  of  their 
officers  justified  in  adopting  any  party  or  national  device.  To 
this  plain  exposition  of  facts  I  added  the  opinions  of  divers  learned 
commentators  on  public  law ;  but  his  answer  to  all  my  arguments, 
that  foreigners,  and  Americans  among  others,  wore  it  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  that  it  was  a  regulation  with  which  I  must  comply, 
convinced  me  that  he  had  no  more  respect  for  authorities  than 
for  my  individual  rights.  I  had  before  determined  on  my 
course  of  conduct,  and  quietly  removing  the  badges  from  my 
coat  and  hat  threw  them  on  the  floor  of  his  office,  and  requested 
that  he  would  make  out  my  passport  for  Chili,  from  whence  I 
would  represent  through  our  Charges  des  Affaires  at  Buenos 
Ayres  to  General  Rosas,  that  an  American,  in  violation  of  treaty 
stipulations  and  the  comity  of  nations,  had  been  prevented  from 
traversing  the  Argentine  territories.  His  tone  instantly  changed, 
and  he  informed  me  that  the  wearing  of  the  badge  would  not  be 
exacted,  but  advised  me  to  do  it  for  my  own  personal  safety,  as 
seeing  me  without  it,  I  might  be  assaulted  by  the  lower  classes. 
This  peril,  which  I  did  not  consider  a  great  one,  as  the  common 
people  are  by  no  means  so  enthusiastic  as  the  government  officials 
wish  strangers  to  believe,  I  determined  to  risk,  and  was  the 
only  person  in  Mendoza,  young  or  old,  male  or  female,  who  was 
permitted  to  appear  in  the  streets  without  the  red  ribbon,  or 
with  an  entire  beard  "  Barba  Cerrada,"  which  is  supposed  to 
resemble  the  letter  Z7,  the  initial  letter  of  the  obnoxious  Uni- 
tarians. 

Upon  the  occasion  of  an  interview  with  Mr.   ,  a  resident 

political  agent  of  Rosas,  who  shares  the  influence  of  his  chief 
over  the  authorities  of  this  remote  province,  he  assured  me  that 
he  would  speak  to  the  governor,  and  that  I  might  safely  dispense 
with  the  devisa^  and  that  my  beard  should  likewise  be  respected, 


3  96  CHILI   AND   THE   ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


after  which  assurance  I  "whisked  the  latter  about  the  streets  of 
Mendoza  as  fiercely  as  did  the  veteran  Kildermeister  his  three 
feet  queue  tied  with  an  eel  skin,  which  has  been  so  happily 
rescued  from  oblivion,  and  immortalized  in  connection  with  Peter 
the  Headstrong,  and  General  Yan  Poffenburgh,  by  the  graphic 
and  faithful  pen  of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker. 
;i  Notwithstanding  the  victory  I  had  achieved,  I  found  that  there 
was  a  limit  to  my  prerogatives,  which  I  did  not  however  consider 
of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  a  further  negotiation,  as  my 
stay  in  this  city  would  be  limited  to  a  week.  Without  a  devisa^  I 
could  not  enter  a  government  office,  which  I  felt  as  an  inconve- 
nience, owing  to  the  fact  that  the  post  office  at  which  I  expected 
letters  from  Chili  was  situated  in  the  hollow  square  of  the  public 
buildings. 

But  at  the  door  stood  two  cut-throat-looking  sentinels,  with 
their  dirty  red  caps,  ponchos,  and  spurs,  supported  on  their  mus- 
kets, which  they  were  too  lazy  to  shoulder,  and  watching  care- 
fully that  no  improper  person  should  pass  within  ;  that  is,  that 
no  person  without  a  devisa,  myself  namely,  as  I  was  the  only 
person  in  the  city  thus  distinguished.  While  awaiting  in  the 
street  one  day  the  return  of  a  friend  whom  I  had  requested  to 
inquire  for  letters  within,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  how 
rigid  were  the  regulations  respecting  the  wearing  of  this  magical 
emblem  of  patriotism  or  partizanship,  the  brightness  of  which  is 
considered  an  evidence  of  good  faith  and  fidelity  to  the  existing 
state  of  things.  A  or  labourer,  with  a  poncho,  attempted 
to  pass  the  guard,  and  although  the  red  ribbon  was  plainly  distin- 
guishable on  his  hat,  the  presented  bayonet  of  the  sentinel  pre- 
vented his  passing,  until  by  raising  his  poncho  he  showed  that  it 
was  worn  in  accordance  to  law,  or  regulation  for  such  cases  made 
and  provided,  in  the  button  hole  of  his  jacket.  In  this  particular 
instance  the  unfortunate  peon  had  it  on  the  right,  and  conse- 
quently according  to  usage  on  the  wrong  side,  and  was  obliged  to 
transfer  it  before  the  savage  looking  guacM  allowed  him  to 
pass. 


MENDOZA. 


197 


Vive  la  Ilepublique^  or  in  the  language  of  the  country,  success 
to  the  Argentine  Confederation  and  death  to  its  enemies.  I  was 
now  fairly  quartered  in  Mendoza,  though  by  no  means  agreeably, 
as  in  their  domestic  habits  the  people  at  home  are  far  from  our 
standard  of  cleanliness  either  in  their  dress  or  the  service  of  the 
table.  At  the  house  of  my  host  it  was  by  no  means  uncommon  to 
sit  down  with  several  men  in  not  very  tidy  shirt  sleeves,  while 
the  dining-room  was  filled  with  very  dirty  children  belonging  to 
the  family,  who  rolled  about  the  earthen  floor  with  the  mangey 
dogs,  and  half-naked  children  of  the  negro  servants. 

Near  the  dining-room  was  a  bed-chamber,  the  door  of  which 
was  invariably  open,  and  though  I  consider  myself  an  old 
traveller  and  not  over  nice,  I  could  never  eat  with  any  gusto" 
until  my  back  was  turned  upon  the  uninviting  unmade  bed  and 
its  appurtenances.  Neither  was  the  food  of  such  a  quality  or 
served  in  such  a  manner  as  to  provoke  the  appetite,  it  being 
coarse  and  badly  cooked,  and  served  up  in  a  mass  which  fre- 
quently left  a  pleasing  doubt  as  to  its  original  elements. 

It  is  pleasing,  however,  to  record  the  fact  that  there  appears 
to  be  a  progressive  improvement,  as  the  younger  portion  of  the 
population  are  much  more  nice  in  their  dress  and  habits  than  that 
which  is  passing  away.  At  meals — cheap  Spanish  wine,  or  that 
of  the  country  is  generally  used,  although  Cana^  or  Brazil- 
ian rum  appears  to  be  the  favourite  beverage  among  the  old 
men.  The  ceremonial  of  drinking  healths,  which  is  so  burden- 
some in  Brazil,  appears  to  have  never  found  its  way  to  this  city, 
or  to  have  been  abandoned.  Although  we  find  no  temperance 
societies,  or  few  who  practice  total  abstinence,  examples  of  ex- 
cessive drinking  are  very  rare. 

Owing  I  presume  to  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere,  due  to  the  ele- 
vation above  the  sea  level  in  this  city  as  well  as  in  Santiago,  the 
elfects  of  excessive  or  even  what  would  in  our  country  be  termed 
moderate  drinking,  is  so  hurtful  to  the  nervous  system  as  to 
break  down  even  the  strongest  constitution  in  a  few  years. 
Whether^ this  effect,  of  the  existence  of  which  there  cannot  be  the 


198 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


slightest  doubt,  is  entirely  attributable  to  tlie  causes  just  alluded 
to,  I  am  unable  to  decide,  and  have  been  informed  that  in  some 
parts  of  Bolivia  at  a  much  greater  elevation  than  either  Santiago 
or  Mendoza,  spirits  are  used  in  great  quantities  with  impunity. 
The  custom  which  was  at  one  time  common  in  our  own  country 
of  drinking  raw  spirits  before  breakfast,  yet  exists  in  Mendoza,  and 
in  fact  in  almost  all  parts  of  South  America.  Our  morning 
dram  was  generally  termed  an  antifogmatic,  an  appropriate  term 
in  our  moist  climate.  In  the  table  lands  of  Brazil  and  Mendoza 
where  fogs  are  rare,  it  is  termed     Matta  Bicha,"  insect  killer. 

The  principle  involved  is  precisely  the  same,  and  the  names 
given  in  each  case  may  obscure  but  do  not  conceal  the  true  motive 
in  resorting  to  stimulants.  Neither  do  the  house-keepers  of 
Mendoza  devote  greater  attention  to  the  cleanliness  of  their  bed- 
rooms and  their  dining-rooms,  as  that  occupied  by  Astorga  and 
myself  was  never  once  swept  during  our  occupancy  of  a  week, 
nor  did  our  bed  receive  the  slightest  attention  from  any  member 
of  the  household  during  that  period.  His  j)eon  Jacinto  not  only 
made  our  beds  when  it  became  absolutely  necessary,  but  brought 
water  to  wash,  cleaned  our  boots,  and  in  short  performed  all  the 
duties  which  in  other  countries  pertain  to  the  household  servants. 

The  principle  which  seems  to  govern  the  householders  of  this 
country,  as  well  as  the  great  majority  in  the  interior  of  Brazil,  is 
to  cleanse  the  bed-room  upon  the  arrival  of  a  guest,  and  per- 
chance again  at  his  departure,  so  woe  to  those  who  remain  long 
in  the  same  house  without  a  jpeon  of  their  own,  who  among  the 
multifarious  accomplishments  required  of  a  traveller's  servant 
should  also  understand  the  art  of  washing  bed-linen. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  inconveniences  of  this  system  to 
the  traveller,  it  has  obvious  advantages  to  the  householders  of  a 
country  where  the  paucity  of  hotels  make  private  hospitality  a 
matter  of  necessity,  as  it  will  inevitably  prevent  a  longer  stay  than 
is  absolutely  necessary.  It  frequently  occurred  to  me  during  my 
journeys  in  South  America  and  my  sojourn  in  some  seaports  of 
Mexico,  that  while  the  wealthier  classes  import  French  modistes, 


MENDOZA. 


199 


music  and  dancing  masters,  they  would  do  well  to  obtain  a  few 
housewives  from  Holland,  or  some  portion  of  the  world  inhabited 
by  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  who  might  indoctrinate  them  into  the 
mysteries  of  domestic  economy  and  cleanliness.* 

The  attendance  at  the  table  and  the  bringing  of  a  cup  of 
matte  to  the  bedside  in  the  morning  by  a  female  servant,  is 
all  the  service  rendered  by  the  domestics  to  a  traveller  or  a 
stranger.! 

Hoping  to  better  myself  by  a  change,  I  stole  out  one  day  to 
take  a  look  at  the  only  posada  in  the  place,  and  upon  entering 
called  for  some  refreshment,  which  was  brought  me  by  a  dirty- 
looking  jpeon^  whose  foul  poncho  covered,  but  did  not  conceal  still 
fouler  linen,  and  whose  enormous  rattling  spurs  upon  his  bare 
feet,  an  evidence  of  gentility  among  the  rude  people  of  the 
Pampas,  as  in  former  times  among  the  refined  knights  of  Europe, 
might  have  induced  the  opinion  that  instead  of  being  a  servant, 
lie  was  but  a  temporary  sojourner  in  the  house.  It  is  no  exag- 
geration that  the  guacho  considers  himself  at  home  only  while  on 
horseback,  and  his  bow  legs  is  an  evidence  that  he  is  spoiled  for 
a  graceful  pedestrian. 

A  single  glance  at  the  fonda,  convinced  me  that  I  should  not 
better  my  condition  by  exchanging  my  quarters,  which  I  intended 
to  do  in  the  event  that  I  should  find  greater  attention  to  cleanli- 
ness. Though  I  can  live  on  little  of  the  coarsest  food,  T  have  a 
predilection  of  its  having  at  least  the  appearance  of  cleanliness, 
in  which  I  had  found  all  South  Americans  whom  1  have  visited, 
except  the  Chilians,  remarkably  deficient. 

Being  essentially  an  inland  town,  Mendoza  presents  few  attrac- 
tions to  the  passing  traveller.    There  are  no  public  buildings  dis- 

As  dirty  as  a  mantel^  (table-cloth,)  being  a  popular  comparison,  "will  give 
a  fair  idea  of  the  donaestic  econonny  of  this  city. 

t  Lest  any  one  should  infer  that  I  have  violated  the  sacred  rites  of  hospi- 
tality in  setting  forth  the  peculiarities  of  the  internal  economy  in  the  house 
of  my  entertainers  in  this  city,  I  will  only  remark  that  I  paid  most  liberally 
for  my  right  to  criticise.  I  had  business  transactions  of  which  my  enter- 
tainment formed  a  part,  and  I  was  taken  in. 


200 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


tingnished  either  for  size  or  architecture  ;  their  churches  being 
inferior  to  those  of  any  of  the  Chilian  towns  already  described. 
The  city  contains  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,*  and,  as  is 
almost  invariably  the  case  in  South  American  cities  of  Spanish 
origin,  is  regularly  laid  out  in  squares. 

The  houses,  which  are  seldom  more  than  one  story  high,  are 
for  the  most  part  built  of  adoht^  or  large  unburnt  brick,  the  better 
class  being  white-washed  and  tiled,  while  the  others  remain  the 
naturally  sombre  color  of  the  clay,  and  are  covered  with  grass,  or 
a  sloping  bed  of  clay,  which,  in  the  dry  climate  of  the  tablelands, 
affords  a  sufficient  protection.  In  a  few  isolated  instances  the 
roofs  are  flat  and  terraced,  as  in  Vera  Cruz  and  Havana.  Even 
the  largest  houses  present  a  small  front  on  the  street,  where  they 
have  a  ''^  'porto  calU^''  or  large  door,  through  which  horses,  and 
occasionally  carriages,  may  be  driven.  Those  of  this  class  gene- 
rally enclose  a  neatly  tiled  square,  communicating  with  a  garden 
where  the  horses  are  frequently  pastured. 

In  the  centre  of  the  principal  square  stands  a  dusty  sun-burnt 
erection  of  stone,  once  a  fountain,  and  said  to  have  been  con- 
structed during  the  revolution,  and  when  the  province  was  governed 
by  the  famous  San  Martin.  The  water  which  supplied  it  was 
brought  from  the  direction  of  the  Andes,  distant  at  this  point 
about  fifteen  miles.  The  aqueduct  having  been  injured,  or  ren- 
dered temporarily  unserviceable,  there  is  no  longer  sufficient  en- 
terprise or  security  to  warrant  its  repair.  The  inhabitants  are 
now  supplied  from  the  mountain  torrent,  which,  under  the  appel- 
lation of  ^he  River  Mendoza,  passes  through  the  city,  and  from 
wells  which  are  generally  brackish.  Allusion  has  been  already 
made  to  the  rarity  of  the  goitre  in  Chili,  near  the  western  slope 
of  the  Andes,  when  compared  with  the  city  and  its  vicinity,  where 
every  person  seems  more  or  less  affected.  Were  the  ancient 
European  theory,  which  was  founded  on  its  prevalence  in  Switzer- 

^  Sixty  thousand  has  been  erroneously  stated  by  some  travellers,  which 
is  about  the  entire  population  of  the  whole  province,  according  to  the  Gov- 
ernment returns. 


MENDOZA. 


201 


land,  received  as  conclusive,  ifc  ought  to  be  met  most  frequently 
in  Chili,  where  the  cold  snow  water  is  in  general  use,  which  is 
not  the  case  in  the  Argentine  Provinces.  A  tradition  in  Chili, 
already  alluded  to,  makes  its  appearance  cotemporary  with  the 
introduction  of  the  Italian  poplar  from  Mendoza,  since  which 
time  it  is  said  to  have  gradually  increased.  If  this  be  true,  it 
would  not  appear  improbable  that  it  may  be  contagious,  and  may 
have  been  propagated  in  Chili  after  the  revolution  had  made  the 
intercourse  between  the  two  slopes  of  the  Andes  more  common.  In 
all  parts  of  the  world  where  this  disgusting  disease  exists  it  is 
popularly  attributed  to  the  peculiar  composition  of  the  water  ; 
yet,  a  theory  founded  upon  its  saline  qualities  in  Men  doza  would 
crumble  like  the  snow  water  theory  of  Switzerland,  before  the 
numerous  examples  of  its  prevalence  which  we  have  observed  in 
the  table  lands  of  Brazil,  where  the  waters  of  a  granitic  region 
appear  remarkably  pure.  In  Brazil,  as  in  certain  regions  in 
Hindostan,  where  it  prevails  extensively,  snow  is  unknown. 

The  boast  and  ornament  of  Mendoza  is  its  alemeda^  or  prome- 
nade, shaded  by  several  rows  of  ancient  poplars,  and  cooled  by  a 
murmuring  brook  which  runs  along  its  margin.  In  times  past  it 
was  perhaps  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  beautiful  Canada  of 
Santiago,  but  now  its  trees  are  untrimmed,  its  walks  unswept  and 
deserted,  and  it  remains  only  as  a  monument  of  the  taste  and 
enterprise  of  a  former  generation. 

Why  it  should  be  thus  neglected  when  a  little  labour  would 
make  it  a  magnificent  promenade,  I  do  not  know,  but  presume  it 
is  attributable  to  the  progressive  indolence  produced  by  an  enei*- 
vating  climate,  the  cessation  of  the  fictitious  prosperity  which 
built  up  this  city  at  a  point  which  possesses  few  natural  advan- 
tages, and  to  the  'fact  that  the  more  wealthy  possess  chacras^  or 
country  houses,  to  which  they  resort  during  the  excessive  heat  of 
the  summer.  During  the  colonial  times  frequent  importations 
from  Europe,  of  a  more  hardy  and  enterprising  race,  could  with 
ease  build  those  monuments  which  their  indolent  Creole  descend- 
ants have  not  the  energy  to  keep  in  repair,  a  fact  which  has  been 


202  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


painfully  illustrated  in  every  portion  of  South  America  except 
Chili.  The  description  of  the  life  of  the  Creoles  of  Mendoza, 
by  Sir  Francis  Head,  is  a  gem  in  its  way,  and  so  graphic  and 
characteristic  of  the  inhabitants  of  all  these  cities  of  the  plains 
that  I  will  quote  it  entire,  as,  having  been  written  full  thirty 
years  ago,  it  has  been  overwhelmed  and  almost  forgotten  in  the 
mountain  of  ephemeral  literature  which  the  age  of  progress  has 
heaped  upon  it. 

"  Provisions  are  cheap,  and  the  persons  who  bring  them  quiet 
and  civil ;  the  climate  is  exhausting,  and  the  whole  population  in- 
dolent. Mais  que  voulez  vou$  ?  How  can  the  people  of  Mendo- 
za  be  otherwise.  Their  situation  dooms  them  to  inactivity.  They 
are  bounded  by  the  Andes  and  -  by  the  Pampas,  and,  with  such 
formidable  and  relentless  barriers  around  them,  what  have  they 
to  do  with  the  history  or  improvements,  or  the  notions  of  the 
rest  of  the  world  ?  Their  wants  are  few,  and  nature  readily  sup- 
plies them.  The  day  is  long,  and,  therefore,  as  soon  as  they 
have  had  their  breakfasts,  and  have  made  a  few  arrangements  for 
their  supper,  it  is  so  very  hot  that  they  go  to  sleep  ;  and  what 
could  they  do  better  ?" 

As  irrigation  can  be  easily  effected  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  Mendoza,  the  country  is  made  comparatively  productive. 
Wheat  is  raised  in  quantities  sufficient  for  domestic  consumption, 
and  a  surplus  might  easily  be  added  for  exportation,  did  not  the 
distance  from  a  market  make  the  transportation  too  expensive. 
Bounded  by  the  Andes  and  Pampas,  an  extraordinary  demand 
alone  could  make  so  bulky  an  article  pay  for  its  cultivation  and 
transportation,  and  its  principal  wealth  consists  of  its  mines, 
which  are  by  no  means  successfully  wrought,  its  cattle,  and  the 
fruits  of  the  orchard.  Among  the  latter,  grapes  and  peaches  are 
the  most  prominent,  and  when  dried  are  transported  to  Buenos 
Ayres.  Of  the  former  a  sort  of  brandy  is  manufactured,  which 
is  extensively  used  in  the  provinces,  but  is  not  exported.  As 
an  evidence  of  the  impracticability  of  advantageous  exportation 
of  any  save  the  most  valuable  products  of  the  earth,  it  may  be 


MENDOZA. 


203 


well  to  mention  the  mode  of  transportation  to  the  nearest  seaports, 
and  the  general  price  exacted  on  freight.  To  Valparaiso  the 
distance  is  about  three  hundred  miles,  and  mules  only  can  be 
employed  ;  the  price  for  transportation  of  freight  being  from  three 
to  five  reals — from  thirty-seven  and  a-half  to  sixty-two  and  a-half 
cents — perarrohaof  twenty-five  pounds,  according  to  the  season  ; 
the  journey,  late  in  the  autumn,  or  early  in  the  spring,  being 
both  painful  and  dangerous. 

Merchandize  to  and  from  Buenos  Ayres  is  transported  in  carts 
carrying  about  one  hundred  and  Mtyarrobas,  and  drawn  by  twelve 
oxen,  and  the  freight  is  generally  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
for  each  cart  toward  the  seaboard,  and  sixty  dollars  returning. 
The  danger  of  being  intercepted  by  the  Pampa  Horse  Indians, 
who  ravage  the  provinces  of  San  Luis,  a  portion  of  Cordova,  and 
Santa  Fe,  almost  at  pleasure,  doubtless  contribute  to  keep  up  the 
price  of  transportation.  In  view  of  the  remoteness  of  a  market 
and  the  difficulty  of  transit,  the  attention  of  the  more  intelligent 
Mendozinos  has  been  called  to  the  introduction  of  some  commo- 
dity of  sufficient  value  to  pay  for  its  transportation,  and  thus  re- 
instate the  prosperity  of  the  province,  which  has  retrogaded  since 
the  decline  in  the  more  valuable  metallic  productions.  An  ex- 
Governor  ,whose'acquaintance  I  made  in  Mendoza,  has  endeavoured, 
and  with  some  success,  to  introduce  the  culture  of  the  mulberry 
tree,  and  the  manufacture  of  silk,  among  his  countrymen.  As 
the  soil  and  climate  appear  favourable,  it  will  probably  be  attended 
with  success.  The  exports  of  the  silk  in  cocoons  amounted,  at 
the  time  of  my  visit,  to  about  seventy  arrobas  (1750  lbs.)  per 
annum,  and,  as  the  mulberries  are  rapidly  increasing,  this  culture 
promises  finally  to  meet  the  views  of  the  intelligent  gentleman 
who  proposed  its  cultivation,  as  the  only  available  article  which 
could  pay  for  transportation  to  the  seaboard. 

The  public  revenues  of  this  province,  which  are  derived  from 
duties  upon  importations,  land  tax,  and  tithes,  amounts  to  about 
fifty  or  sixty  thousand  dollars  a  year,  according  to  the  statement 
of  a  high  official  personage  in  Mendoza.    From  the  same  source 


204 


CHILI  A^'D  THE  AEGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


I  learned  that  the  import  duties  were  seven  per  cent,  and  that 
the  current  expenditures  were  from  sixty  to  seventy  thousand 
dollars  per  annum.  The  population  of  the  province  numbers 
from  fifty-five  to  sixty  thousand  souls,  the  national  guard  or  mili- 
tia to  seven  thousand,  and  the  regular  army  of  the  province  to 
eight  hundred  men.  The  inhabitants  of  the  city  may  be  divided 
into  four  classes  :  officials,  merchants,  idlers,  mechanics,  and 
peons  or  labourers.  Those  of  the  country  into  farmers  or  land- 
owners, and  guachos  or  herdsmen.  The  third  class  in  the  enume- 
ration of  the  denizens  of  cities  is  one  which,  fortunately,  has  not 
become,  as  yet,  very  nnmerous  in  our  country,  whose  inhabitants 
possess  an  industry  inherent  to  their  race,  and  fostered  by  our 
temperate  climate.  It  is  composed  of  young  men  connected  with 
respectable,  and  sometimes  wealthy  families,  who  possess  a  limited 
amount  of  showy  education,  ride  well,  dance  well,  dress  nnexcep- 
tionably,  in  the  street  or  abroad,  and  supply  the  young  ladies  o  f 
Mendoza  with  that  necessary  component  of  society,  known  in  all 
parts  of  the  civilized  world  as  beaux.  As  to  their  ultimate  des- 
tiny I  know  about  as  little  as  did  I\Ir.  Samuel  TTeller  of  that  of 
post  boys  and  donkeys,  to  the  latter  of  which  animals,  in  an  alle- 
gorical sense,  they  assimulate,  but  presume  that  those  who  are 
not  provided  for  by  an  advantageous  marriage,  eventually  merge 
into  the  class  of  inferior  office  holders. 

My  week's  stay  in  Mendoza  passed  without  many  incidents 
worthy  of  note,  and  the  description  of  one  day'^s  occupation 
would  serve  for  that  of  my  whole  stay.  In  the  morning,  at  about 
eight  o'clock,  a  female  servant  brought  Yerba  or  Paraguay  tea  in  a 
small  silver  mounted  gourd,  and  which  I  was  expected  to  imbibe 
through  a  silver  tube,  at  a  temperature  a  little,  but  not  much 
below  two  hundred  and  twelve  Fahrenheit ;  the  same  gourd  and 
the  same  tube,  the  former  having  been  replenished,  were  then 
handed  to  Astorga,  my  room-mate,  when  it  again  returned  to  me, 
and  so  on,  mutatis  mutandis/^  until  we  had  both  pronounced 
ourselves  satisfied.  After  matte  we  were  then  allowed  to  rise  or 
renew  our  sleep  at  our  ovm  discretion,  as  by  no  chance  could  we 


MENDOZA. 


205 


expect  our  breakfast  before  10  a.  m.  When  it  appeared  it  con- 
isted  generally  of  roast  mutton,  wine  and  bread,  with  the  preli- 
ninary  glass  of  ca  fid^  Para  matar  los  animalculii^'''^  and  termi- 
nated with  a  cup  of  tea.  We  were  then  free  to  go  where  we 
pleased  until  two,  when  our  dinner  of  nearly  the  same  material, 
was  served,  with  this  difference,  that  a  cup  of  black  coffee  was 
substituted  for  tea,  which  was  served  at  breakfast. 

The  interval  between  breakfast  and  dinner  I  generally  employ 
ed  at  the  house  of  an  Englishman,  who,  by  some  means,  had 
found  his  way  into  this  city,  where,  with  the  customary  good  for- 
tune of  his  race,  he  had  formed  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  a 
wealthy  and  respectable  lady,  and  was  the  possessor  of  a  small 
store  or  shop,  and  sundry  ox  carts,  with  which  he  conducted  an 
advantageous  traffic  with  Buenos  Ayres  in  the  transportation,  sale, 
»nd  exchange  of  dried  fruits.  Another  house  where  I  passed 
several  agreeable  mornings  was  that  of  a  Scotch  physician,  who, 
after  wandering  through  various  parts  of  South  iVmerica,  had  es- 
tablished at  Mendoza,  where  he  practiced  his  profession,  and  gave 
his  attention  to  a  grazing  estate,  which  he  haa  in  the  vicinity; 
He  was  an  intelligent  and  highly  educated  man,  had  acquired 
property,  and,  having  formed  no  ties  by  marriage  in  the  province, 
it  was  and  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  he  can  consent  to  dole  out 
a  miserable  existence  in  a  place  where  he  can  find  so  very  few 
congenial  spirits.  His  kind  and  hospitable  reception  of  me  was 
an  evidence  of  his  gratification  at  meeting  one  who,  though  not  a 
countryman,  could  converse  in  his  own  language,  and  could  dis- 
cuss with  him  subjects  which  must,  but  for  the  arrival  of  a  chance 
traveller,  remain  for  ever  buried  in  his  own  thoughts,  as  an  unex- 
changable  commodity  in  that  region.  Another  friend,  a  native, 
to  whom  I  had  letters  of  introduction  from  Santiago,  also  assisted 
me  to  while  away  the  mornings,  which,  but  for  the  kindness  of  the 
three  persons  here  mentioned,  must  have  hung  heavily  upon  my 
hands. 

After  dinner  the  streets  are  deserted,  shops  and  doors  generally 
closed,  and  willing  or  unwilling,  the  traveller,  who  may  not  be 
10 


206 


CHILI  Xyi)  THE  ARGENTINE  PKOVINCES. 


supplied  with  books,  must  occupy  the  intensely  hot  hours  of  the 
afternoon  in  a  s/>:5f^,  during;  which  the  city  appears  like  Stock- 
holm, or  St.  Petersburg,  on  an  arctic  summer's  night,  bating  the 
difference  of  temperature.  After  the  sksta^  and  when  the 
declining  sun  and  the  afternoon  breeze  have  made  the  tempera- 
ture somewhat  more  bearable,  I  frequently  rode  in  the  suburbs, 
which  are  highly  cultivated,  and  being  shaded  by  trees,  covered 
with  vegetation,  and  abounding  with  vineyards,  whose  vines  bent 
beneath  their  luscious  loads,  was  really  a  delightful  jpn$co.  In 
these  rides  I  sometimes  called  at  a  country  house,  where  the  richer 
denizens  of  the  city  had  retired  for  the  summer,  and  enjoyed  the 
liberal  hospitality  of  the  owners,  drinking  a  glass  of  caha  with  the 
father,  smoking  a  eigarito  with  the  ancient  matrons,  whom  I 
astonished  by  the  ^'length  of  my  leard^  and  tht  extent  of  mp 
travels,'^  and  listening  to  the  wild,  though  pleasing  and  plaintive 
Bongs  of  the  seuoritas,  who,  accompanying  themselves  on  the  guitar, 
sung  without  being  pressed,  and  without  the  array  of  maudlia 
excuses,  so  common  in  some  other  countries  boasting  a  higher 
degree  of  social  refinement,  and  rightly  considering  that  they 
were  conferring  upon  me  a  favour  for  which  I  ought  not  to  be 
expected  to  importune  them.  Returning  from  my  ride,  I  visited 
some  families  with  whom  I  had  become  acquainted,  and  was 
almost  invariably  entertained  with  music,  tea,  and  cigars.  Xo 
excuse,  apology,  or  invitation  is  considered  necessary,  should 
the  guest  during  his  visit  wish  to  smoke.  He  simply  takes  out 
his  eigarito,  and  either  striking  a  light  with  the  flint  and  steel, 
with  which  every  one  is  provided,  or  receiving  one  at  the  hands 
of  one  of  the  family,  puffs  away  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  course. 
The  older  ladies  will  frequently  join  him,  or,  perhaps,  take  the 
initiative  ;  but  the  younger  ones  seldom  smoke,  at  least  in  com- 
pany with  strangers,  being  aware  that  it  is  not  considered 
coimne.  rl  faut^''  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Among  the  more 
refined  in  the  city,  it  is  necessary  to  ask  for  a  national  song  to 
have  it  sung,  as  Italian  operas  have  banished  them  almost  entirely 
from  the  drawing-rooms,  and  1  have  been  surprised  to  hear  co.ri^ 


MENDOZA. 


tinas  and  arias  from  even  the  most  recent  operas,  in  this  remote 
city,  where  so  few  other  elements  of  European  refinement  have 
found  their  way.  French  and  Italian  dances  and  songs  are 
as  familiar  as  household  gods,  where  the  substantial  improvements 
of  the  Ano'lo-Saxon  race  are  considered  almost  in  the  lio-ht  of 
pleasing  pictures.  While  in  the  country,  the  same  ladies  who 
would  accompany  the  music  of  Bellini,  Rossini,  or  Donizetti,  on 
the  piano,  will  take  up  a  guitar,  and  sing  their  Spanish  songs 
without  a  special  request,  thus  shewing  an  appropriateness  to 
time  and  place,  which  does  not  always  distinguish  musical  ama- 
teurs. The  Spanish  voice  I  cannot  consider  musical,  as  there  is 
almost  invariably  something  harsh  in  their  tones,  whether  due  to  the 
character  of  the  indigenous  music,  or  some  peculiar  construction  of 
the  larynx,  I  am  not  able  to  pronounce,  though  on  account  of  its 
universality,  I  am  inclined  to  the  latter  opinion.  Among  the 
ladies  with  whom  I  became  acquainted  in  Mendoza,  were  some 
fair  specimens  of  the  mezzo-sGprano  voice,  and  one,  particularly, 
sung  the  beautiful  Barcarole  from  Marino  Faliero^  with  a  taste 
and  execution  I  have  seldom  heard  surpassed.  My  evenings  were 
generally  passed  at  the  house  of  the  Ex-Governor,  Don  Tomas 
Godoy  Cruz,  to  whom  T  have  alluded  as  distinguished  for  his 
attempts  to  introduce  the  culture  of  silk,  and  who  gives  tertidias 
every  evening,  to  which  his  acquaintances,  male  or  female,  come 
or  not  at  their  discretion,  invitations  once  given  being  considered 
as  extending  "  ad  injinitiim^'^'^  an  arrangement  which  possesses  its 
peculiar  advantages  for  the  few  strangers,  who  may  find  themselves 
in  Mendoza.  On  Sunday  evening  the  rooms  are  generally  full, 
while  any  evening  there  is  enough  to  get  up  a  quadrille  or  polka 
in  the  drawing-room,  while  Don  Tomas  entertains  his  male  guests 
in  his  sanctum  adjoining,  with  cana^  cigaritas,  and  cake. 

His  wife  and  daughter,  the  latter  an  interesting,  pretty,  and 
intelligent  little  girl,  played  and  sung  well,  and  music  formed  a 
prominent  part  of  the  evening's  entertainments.  The  two  pianos 
which  adorned  the  two  parlours,  were  handsome  and  expensive 
instruments,  and  alike  an  evidence  of  the  taste  and  wealth  of  the 


208 


€fHlLI  AND   THE   ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


owner  of  the  mansion.  The  older  male  members  of  the  commu- 
nity, or  those,  who,  like  myself,  were  not  skilled  in  the  terpsicho- 
rean  art,  generally  congregated  in  the  sanctum,  where  through 
the  open  doors  we  could  witness  the  dancing,  and  hear  the  music, 
while  we  discussed  our  cigars,  cafla^  and  the  state  of  the  world 
at  large,  and  the  ultimate  destiny  of  California,  wh^ch  was  then 
the  prevailing  topic  of  conversation,  in  particular.  Being  the 
first  person  who  had  ever  arrived  in  Mendoza  from  El  Dorado,  I 
was  the  oracle  of  the  day,  and  I  confess  my  patience  was  so  severely 
tried,  that  I  would  have  been  willing  to  have  consigned  that  rich 
mineral  region,  with  all  its  gold,  to  the  dignified  insignificance 
which  it  enjoyed  when  in  the  course  of  my  service  I  first  visited 
its  shores.  When  in  Santiago,  1  first  saw  in  a  Valparaiso  Jour- 
nal, a  translation  of  the  decree  from  General  Persifor  Smith, 
prohibiting  foreigners  from  occupying  the  public  lands  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  knowing  from  the  dissatisfaction  there  expressed,  that 
it  would  be  highly  displeasing  to  the  people  of  Mendoza,  many 
of  whom  were  preparing  to  start  in  search  of  a  speedy  fortune, 
I  was  careful  to  make  no  allusion  to  it,  and  hoped  most  ardently 
that  I  might  be  allowed  to  depart  before  the  news  could  be  trans- 
mitted to  Mendoza.  In  this,  however,  I  was  disappointed,  as  a 
Journal  containing  the  decree  arrived  about  three  days  before  my 
departure.  The  torrent  of  complaints  and  questions  now  showered 
upon  me,  at  the  evening  tertulia  of  Don  Tomas,  were  overpower- 
ing, and  I  was  compelled  to  seek  the  society  of  the  ladies  for 
protection.  Indeed,  I  seriously  thought  of  attempting  to  dance, 
in  order  to  save  myself  from  the  persecutioq^s  of  my  inveterate 
tormentors.  The  alleged  want  of  liberality  of  the  Grovernment 
of  the  United  States  was  boldly  attacked,  and  this  decree  was 
pronounced  more  tyrannical  than  any  of  the  edicts  of  the  sublime 
Porte,  or  the  Czar  of  all  the  Russias.  Finding  escape  impossi- 
ble, and  becoming  somewhat  roused  by  the  unmerited  abuse  of  our 
liberal  institutions,  I  turned  upon  my  assailants,  and  if  I  did  not 
substantiate  my  position,  and  that  of  my  government,  by  argu- 
ments, I  silenced  them  by  carrying  the  war  into  Africa,  and 


MENDOZA. 


209 


showed  them  how  little  right  they  had  to  speak  of  tyranny,  when 
they  themselves,  nominally  a  republic,  did  not  dare  to  venture 
into  the  streets  without  the  badge  of  servitude  to  the  dictator 
Rosas,  who,  under  the  title  of  Governor  only  of  the  Province  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  encharged  with  the  foreign  relations  of  the 
Kepublic,  ruled  with  a  rod  of  iron  the  remotest  point  of  the  Con- 
federation ;  that  while  they  allowed  their  citizens  and  even  their 
officials  to  be  shot  and  deported  at  the  discretion  of  the  Dictator, 
whose  espionage  even  at  this  remote  point,  and  beyond  his  nom- 
inal and  legal  jurisdiction,  struck  terror  into  every  heart,  and 
silenced  every  tongue.  These  retaliatory  arguments,  which  were 
addressed  principally  to  a  shopkeeper,  the  poet  and  savan  of  the 
city,  who  made  himself  peculiarly  officious,  were  effective,  and  he 
was  silenced,  as  with  the  badge  of  servitude  on  his  breast  and  hat, 
he  did  not  dare  deny  the  truth  of  my  assertions,  especially,  as 
his  denial  might  perchance  have  been  construed  into  treasonable 
language  by  any  one  present,  whose  interest  it  might  have  been 
to  denounce  him.  This  is  not  the  only  instance,  nor  is  Mendoza 
the  only  city,  where  men  groaning  under  tyranny  at  home  which 
the}^  fear  to  denounce,  revenge  themselves  on  it  as  an  abstraction 
by  exclaiming  against  it  as  it  exists  in  some  remote  point,  thus  in- 
curring no  danger  or  responsibility. 

I  understood  perfectly  well  the  school  in  which  the  Mendo- 
zinos  had  formed  their  opinions  relative  to  mines  and  metals,  and 
could  appreciate  perfectly  their  views  and  prejudices,  so  after 
silencing  the  declamation  of  the  oracle,  whose  bad  taste  suggested 
vituperative  abuse  of  my  country  in  my  presence,  I  condescended 
to  explain  to  others  who  were  more  reasonable,  that  the  Spanish 
mining  laws  upon  which  their  opinions  were  based  were  neither 
universal  or  in  accordance  with  reason.  That  the  wealth  of  all 
countries,  which  had  flourished  permanently,  was  founded  on 
agricultural  and  manufacturing  industry,  and  not  upon  mineral 
wealth.  That  to  give  the  landowner  the  security  necessar}^  for 
the  development  of  its  resources,  a  man  who  came  groping  about 
upon  it  in  search  of  mines,  instead  of  being  encouraged  by  the 


210 


CHILI   AXD   THE   ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


government,  would  probably  be  indited  for  a  trespass,  and  that 
should  he  haply  discover  and  denounce"  a  mine  upon  the  land 
pertaining  to  another  person,  so  far  from  legally  possessing  it,  and 
having  the  privilege  of  using  any  materials  pertaining  to  the  owner 
of  the  land  at  a  low  price  established  by  law,  as  would  be  the  case 
under  the  Spanish  mining  regulations,  he  would  enjoy  no  benefit 
whatever  from  his  discovery  unless  it  were  conceded  to  him  by 
the  liberality  of  the  land  owner.  I  explained,  further,  that  our 
laws  were  established  for  the  benefit  of  the  agriculturist  and  not 
the  speculating  miner ;  and  while  we  were  so  illiberal  as  to  pre- 
vent adventurers  from  extracting  metals  from  other  persons'  land, 
that  we  also  extended  our  illiberality  so  far  as  to  prevent  any 
free  and  independent  citizen  from  undermining  his  neighbour's 
house,  or  digging  a  hole  in  his  garden,  simply  because  he  had 
declared  his  belief  that  there  existed  mineral  wealth  below, 
which  he  might  do  under  the  Spanish  law.  After  explaining  to 
my  astonished  audience  that  the  ownership  of  the  surface  of  the 
earth  was  supposed  to  extend  to  an  infinitesimal  point  at  its 
centre,  I  took  occasion  to  revenge  myself  upon  my  assailant3, 
who  had  certainly  little  to  expect  from  me  on  the  score  of  inter- 
national courtesy,  after  an  unprovoked  and  somewhat  discour- 
teous attack,  by  drawing  a  vivid  picture  of  the  difference  between 
the  prosperity  of  North  and  South  America,  taking  care  to 
merge  all  other  considerations,  and  attribute  it  solely  to  the  dif- 
ference between  our  common  laws  for  security  of  property  and 
the  mining  laws  of  Spain  and  her  colonies.  Whether  convinced 
or  not,  they  were  silenced  ;  and,  I  doubt  not,  should  the  melan- 
choly-looking poet  and  savan  whose  unsparing:  denunciations  first 
aroused  me,  ever  gratify  the  world  by  a  publication  on  political 
economy,  that  I  shall  receive  the  compliment  of  having  some 
of  my  ideas  upon  landed  tenure  and  mines  dressed  up  into  sono- 
rous and  dignified  Spanish.  I  learned  one  lesson,  however,  from 
the  occurrence,  and  took  measures  to  prevent  its  being  generally 
known  afterwards  that  I  had  visited  California,  which  not  only 
saved  me  a  world  of  trouble,  but  may  have  saved  me  from  being 


MENDOZA. 


211 


robbed  of  my  small  stock  of  money  under  the  erroneous  impres- 
sion that  I  was  a  millionaire. 

Among  others  whom  I  met  at  the  tertulias  of  Don  Tomas 
was  Mr.  Iregoyen,  formerly  Secretary  of  Legation  to  Chili,  and 
for  some  years  doomed  to  a  sort  of  honourable  exile  as  diplo- 
matic agent  of  Rosas,  to  watch  the  proceedings  of  this  remote 
frontier  province.  Having  been  educated  in  Buenos  x\yres,  and 
had  much  intercourse  with  the  world,  he  possessed  the  intelli- 
gence and  refinement  which  characterizes  the  well-selected 
foreign  agents  of  Rosas'  astute  government.  To  this  gentleman's 
politeness  I  owe  much  of  the  information  which  I  obtained  rela- 
tive to  this  province,  and  much  of  the  pleasure  which  I  enjoyed 
during  my  visit.  His  charming  lady,  a  puritana  or  native  of  the 
province  of  San  Luis,  would  be  an  ornament  to  any  society. 
According  to  a  preconcerted  arrangement,  I  was  to  await  the 

arrival  of  Senor  M  ,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made  in 

Chili,  and  with  him  to  cross  the  plains  on  horseback  to  Buenos 
Ayres.  After  awaiting  him  with  anxiety  for  some  days,  I  learned 
on  the  evening  of  the  12th,  through  a  mutual  friend,  that  he  had 
arrived  the  night  before,  when  I  immediately  called  upon  him  at 
the  fonda,  and  received  some  letters  which  had  been  committed 
to  his  charge  in  Chili.  He  made  no  apology  for  not  notifying 
me  of  his  arrival,  and  could  not  specify  the  time  of  his  departure, 
and  in  truth  was  somewhat  dictatorial  and  arrogant  in  his  bear- 
ing. Our  interview  was  short,  and  to  me  unsatisfactory,  as  his 
conduct  was  by  no  means  distinguished  by  the  same  courtesy 
which  I  had  received  from  him  in  C  lili.  I  was  in  short  treated 
in  the  patronizing  manner  which  seemed  to  indicate  that  during 
our  future  association  to  hear  would  be  to  obey,  as  he  would  en- 
charge  himself  with  the  thinking  which  might  be  necessary  for 
the  consummation  of  our  views.  The  same  evening  I  met  him 
at  the  house  of  Don  Tomas,  where  he  set  himself  up  for  an 
oracle  upon  all  subjects,  was  particularly  patriotic,  and  alluded 
frequently  to  his  intimacy  with  Rosas  and  his  interesting  daugh- 
ter.   His  accent  and  mode  of  speaking  Spanish  had  before  sur- 


2V2  CHIU  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES*. 


prised  me,  as  though  a  Dian  of  liberal  education,  so  far  as  I 
was  enabled  to  judge  during  our  brief  acquaintance,  he  spoke 
Spanish  with  the  peculiar  intonation,  and  adopted  the  dialect 
which  is  found  in  no  part  of  the  world  where  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage is  spoken,  except  in  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  not 
even  there  among  the  most  refined.  The  assurance  and  preten- 
sions of  the  man,  as  well  as  the  deference  paid  to  him,  almost 
alarmed  me,  and  I  determined  to  fathom  the  mystery  before  com- 
mitting myself  to  his  tender  mercies,  and  accordingly  called  early 
next  morning  upon  a  friend,  who  briefly  sketched  his  history. 
By  birth  he  was  supposed  to  be  a  Peruvian,  and  was  formerly 
master  of  a  small  trading  vessel,  and  having  some  claim  for 
damages  on  account  of  the  seizure  or  employment  of  his  little 
craft  by  the  Chilian  authoiities,  which  was  so  doubtful  in  charac- 
ter, that  it  required  a  strong  government  to  back  it,  he  sii'lrh uly 
became  an  Argentine,  and  not  only  an  Argentuie^  but  a  Forteno^ 
as  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  proper  are 
termed.  H-^nce  his  pronunciation,  which  was  more  conspicu- 
ous than  it  would  have  been  in  a  native,  and  by  which  he  in- 
tended to  support  the  useful  fiction  of  his  being  entitled  to  the 
powerful  protection  of  the  Argentine  government  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  his  claim  against  Chili.  His  importance  in  Mendoza 
was  attributable  to  his  supposed  influence  with  Bosas,  and  to  the 
suspicion  which  1  believe  to  have  been  well  founded,  of  his 
being  a  secret  agent  of  the  dictator.  Having  informed  myself 
upon  this  man's  history,  I  called  again  upon  him  to  learn  his 
determination  about  starting,  when  he  composedly  informed  me 
of  his  intention  to  postpone  our  departure  for  a  few  days,  kindly 
promising,  however,  to  give  me  timely  notice.  He  also  con- 
descended to  inform  me  that  he  had  changed  his  determination, 
and  that  we  would  cross  the  plains  in  a  carriage  with  post  horses, 
and  finally,  without  asking  me  to  be  seated,  assured  me,  that 
though  busy  at  the  time,  he  would  be  glad  to  see  me  at  dinner  at 
four,  after  which  I  was  dismissed  by  a  bow,  too  utterly  surprised 
by  bis  modest  assurance  to  articulate  a  word. 


MENDOZA. 


213 


Arriving  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  I  asked  for  pen  and  paper, 
and  politely  informed  Don  Francisco,  that  the  mode  of  travel 
which  we  had  selected  was  different,  and  that  instead  of  enjoying 
the  pleasure  of  his  society  during  his  transit  across  the  plains  in 
a  carriage,  1  would  depart  early  on  the  following  morning  with 
post  horses,  in  company  with  the  government  courier.  Since 
that  time,  I  have  never  met  him,  and  upon  my  arrival  ia  Buenos 
Ayres,  after  repeated  enquiries,  I  found  him  only  recognized  by 
the  landlady  of  a  hotel,  she  having,  perhaps,  remembered  him 
for  reasons  sufficiently  well  known  to  herself.  Upon  enquiry  of 
the  family  of  Rosas,  his  name  was  not  recognized,  and  I  believe 
I  narrowly  escaped  a  ride  of  nearly  eleven  hundred  miles  in  disa- 
greeable society,  and  with  the  probability  of  having  to  pay 
roundly,  as  in  my  journey  from  Santiago  to  Mendoza,  for  the 
honour  and  protection  which  the  light  of  his  countenance  might 
afford  me.  Having  been  shaved  so  recently  and  effectually  by 
my  protector  and  friend,  Don  Frederico,  I  was  taught  by  expe- 
rience, and  had  become  somewhat  shy,  and  the  next  time  the 
reader  will  find  me  in  the  light  of  a  dupe,  it  will  be  as  a  protector 

and  patron  and  not  as  the  jprotege.    The  man  Don  ¥  ,  was 

certainly  one  of  the  most  gentlemanly,  well  informed,  and  impru- 
dent pretenders  I  have  met  out  of  my  own  country,  and  here  only 
have  met  his  equal  among  government  contractors,  who  have 
influence  with  the  departments  at  Washington,  or  those  whose 
employment  is  the  honourable  and  lucrative  office  of  log  rolling 
the  contracts  through  Congress,  which  they  afterward  dispose  of 
to  the  highest  bidder. 

To  carry  out  my  suddenly  formed  determination  of  setting 
out  with  the  courier,  I  had  now  to  hasten  my  preparations. 
My  first  movement  was  to  see  the  courier,  and  which  was 
effected  through  Mr.  Gronzalez,  who  knew  him  well,  and 
who  urged  him  to  show  me  the  utmost  kindness  and  atten- 
tion, and  holding  him  personally  responsible  for  my  safety 
and  comfort.  It  was  stipulated  that  I  should  join  him  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Gonzalez  at  sunrise  the  following  day,  and  thai  I 


214  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


should  pay  him  forty-five  dollars,  for  which  sum  he  was  to  trans- 
port me  by  post  to  Buenos  Ayres,  paying  the  charge  for  horses 
and  food.  I  considered  the  price  very  reasonable,  as  he  himself 
would  be  obliged  to  pay  to  the  post  masters  about  twenty  dollars, 
which  would  leave  him  twenty-five  for  his  trouble  and  for  the 
payment  of  my  food,  which  I  presume  cost  him  about  five  dollars. 

This  introduction  and  compact  having  been  satisfactorily  ar- 
ranged, I  set  about  my  other  preparations,  and  provided  myself 
with  new  reins  to  my  bridle,  such  as  were  in  use  in  the  country, 
a  pair  of  holster  pistols,  and  a  pair  of  chifres  or  bullock  horns, 
which  suspended  over  my  saddle  under  the  worsted  mat,  were 
useful  for  carrying  either  water  or  some  spirit  to  be  used  as  a 
corrective  for  the  same  during  my  journey.  Having  all  my 
preparations  completed,  and  having  promised  to  take  a  parting 
dinner  with  my  friend  the  Scotch  doctor,  at  eight  o'clock,  I 
returned  home,  and  announced  my  hastily  formed  determination 
to  my  entertainers,  and  proceeded  to  take  leave  of  the  acquaint- 
ances whom  I  had  made  during  my  stay.  My  friend  Don  Fre- 
derico  made  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  return  of  my  money, 
which,  with  as  good  a  grace  as  possible,  I  now  gave  up  for  lost. 
My  very  indifferent  mules  too,  which  he  had  the  goodness  to  sell 
me  in  Chili  at  a  very  exorbitant  price,  had  disappeared  upon  my 
arrival,  and  to  them  he  made  not  the  most  distant  allusion.  I 
imderstood  his  game  perfectly,  and  saw  that  he  intended  that 
they  should  revert  by  default  to  him  upon  my  departure.  In 
this,  I  determined,  that  he  should  not  succeed,  as  I  felt  already 
sufficiently  indignant  at  his  conduct,  but  awaited  patiently  to  see 
whether  he  would,  trusting  to  my  ignorance  or  diffidence,  retain 
his  position  of  ''masterly  inactivity."  As  the  public  offices 
were  closed  at  the  time,  I  bad  concluded  to  depart  in  the 
morning.  T  was  obliged  to  call  upon  my  kind  friend  Mr. 
Iregoyen,  who  obligingly  obtained  for  me  a  special  passport  from 
his  Excellency  the  Governor.  All  having  been  satisfactorily  ar- 
ranged, and  my  baggage  transferred  to  the  house  from  which  it 
was  my  intention  to  start  before  dinner,  which  had  been  kindly 


MENDOZA. 


215 


postponed  by  my  friend  the  doctor  to  suit  my  convenience,  I 
went  about  nine  p.  m.,  to  take  leave  of  my  ci-devant  fellow-tra- 
veller and  entertainer.  Now  for  it,  thought  I,  if  he  offers  me  the 
money  or  makes  even  a  graceful  apology  for  not  paying,  to  save 
myself  trouble,  he  shall  have  the  mules,  otherwise,  the  expensive 
animals  must  be  forked  over.  Upon  my  arrival,  I  found  that 
Don  Frederico  was  very  ill,  and  in  bed,  with  fever  and  a  shocking 
bad  headache,  which,  however,  did  not  prevent  my  obtaining  ac- 
cess to  him.  Our  leave  taking  was  far  from  tender  on  my  part, 
as  I  could  ill  affect  regret  at  parting  from  a  man  who  had  skil- 
fully availed  himself  of  my  confidence  to  impose  upon  me.  My 
adieux  were  speedily  made,  and  I  had  reached  the  door,  when  he 
remarked  something  about  the  mules,  which  were  then  several 
leagues  off  in  the  country.  Oh,  yes,  said  I,  cogitating,  those 
mules,  and  catchi  ig  at  an  idea,  the  only  one  which  suggested 
itself  to  me  as  a  means  of  preventing  further  imposition,  you 
will  be  so  kind  as  to  send  them  to  Dr.  Dow,  with  whom  I  shall 
leave  them.  And  so  down  fell  his  airy  vision  of  obtaining  fifty- 
two  dollars  for  two  mules  which  were  worth  about  thirty-four, 
and  afterwards  retaining  the  animals.  My  leave  taking  of  his 
pretty  little  wife  was  far  more  cordial  and  affectionate,  as  I  had 
the  kindest  feeling  toward  her,  on  account  of  her  unvarying  ami- 
ability and  gentleness,  and  sympathy  for  her  misplaced  affection 
for  him.  I  thought,  in  taking  her  hand,  for  the  last  time,  my 
poor  girl,  you  also  have  dealt  in  animals  with  Don  Frederico,  but 
unfortunately,  you  will,  when  you  discover  the  fraud,  find  it  more 
difficult  to  dispose  of  your  bargain,  than  I  have  done  in  getting 
rid  of  my  mules.  Divorces  are  not  recognized  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Apostolic  Church.  Upon  my  return  to  the  house  of 
the  Dr.,  I  gave  him  an  order  for  the  mules,  which  I  begged  him 
to  accept  as  a  token  of  my  esteem,  and  warning  him  at  the  same 
time  against  that  one  which  attempted  to  murder  me  in  the  Cor- 
dillera. This  order  he  sent  immediately  to  Don  Frederico,  that 
it  should  be  accepted  before  my  departure,  thus  displaying  his 
lack  of  confidence  in  his  half-blood  countryman.    All  my  pre 


216  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


parations  now  having  been  completed,  I  sat  down  with  relish  to 
my  long  delayed  dinner,  which  possessed  the  peculiar  ^-irtue  of 
being  got  up  in  a  cleanly  stylo,  varying  in  this  respect  from  any- 
thing which  1  had  seen  elsewhere  in  3Ienduza.  In  my  dilTerent 
journeys  in  South  America,  during  which  it  has  been  my  good  or 
evil  fortune  to  partake  of  bread  and  salt  with  men  from  almost  every 
part  of  Europe,  I  have  always  observed  that  the  English  and 
Scotch  are  the  least  likely  to  fall  into  the  slovenly  habits  of  the 
people  among  whom  they  may  reside.  The  French,  Italians, 
Germans,  Irish,  a.nd  even  our  own  countryraen,  are  prone  to 
assimilate  their  cus'oms  to  those  of  their  associates  ;  but  John 
Bull  and  his  half-countrymaUj  Sawney,  carry  with  them  their 
national  customs  and  national  habits  of  cleanliness,  and  their 
tables  and  domestic  arrangements  will  be  found  as  nearly  as  thej 
can  be  made,  a  fac  simile  of  what  they  were  accustomed  to  at 
borne.  This  fact  Is  another  evidence  of  their  devotion  to  their 
country,  in  which  J  believe  they  excel  all  other  nations,  and  from 
which  they  are  only  driven  by  a  stem  necessity,  and  to  which 
they  always  look  as  the  home  to  which  they  will  return  to  enj*)y 
their  hard-earned  gains  acquii'ed  during  their  involuntary  exile. 
Neither  of  the  other  European  nations  above  alluded  to,  possess 
much  love  of  country,  and  while  successful  in  their  newly  ac- 
quired homes,  seldom  look  forward  to  a  return  to  the  land  of 
their  birth,  and  are  speedily  merged  in  the  native  population 
among  which  they  may  be  established.  Even  my  own  country- 
men, the  lineal  descendants  of  the  English,  notwithstanding  what 
our  trucklin<^  journalists  and  demagogues  who  live  by  Mattering 
the  foibles  of  the  people,  assert  to  the  contrary,  do  not  by  any 
means  possess  the  same  attachment  to  their  native  soil  that  we 
find  among  our  progenitors.  What  is  frequently  termed  the 
enterprise  of  the  American  people,  in  which  we  excel  all  others, 
is  at  times  but  another  name  for  a  disregard  t^)  the  ties  of  coun- 
trv  and  the  place  of  our  birth  ;  and  there  is  no  new  country  with 
an  ample  field  of  production,  which  has  so  many  citizens  spread 


MENDOZA. 


217 


through  the  world  in  search  of  fortune.*  The  Eiio-Iish,  like  the 
Chinese,  only  go  abroad  when  the  density  of  population  and 
superabundance  of  labour  and  capital  make  it  difficult  to  obtain 
a  comfortable  subsistence  at  home. 

The  legal  fiction  embodied  in  English  common  law  that  the 
crown  cannot  lose  a  subject  by  expatriation,  is  founded  upon 
the  character  and  genius  of  the  people.  After  dinner  the 
hours  fleetly  glided  by  in  conversation,  until  actual  inspection  in- 
formed us  that  a  fearful  inroad  had  been  made  into  the  small 
hours  of  the  night,  and  advertised  me  of  the  necessity  of  obtain- 
ing some  rest  prior  to  next  day's  journey,  which  attempt,  however, 
was  eloquently  resisted  by  the  doctor,  who  let  go  the  only  link 
wliich  associated  me  in  his  own  mind  with  home  with  the  utmost 
reluctance,  and  producing  a  new  batch  of  cigars,  insisted  on 
finishing  the  night,  as  the  time  for  starting  had  so  nearly  arrived. 

vShariog  in  his  feelings,  I  allowed  myself  to  be  persuaded,  and 
early  daylight  found  us  cosily  seated  at  his  table.  No  longer 
delay  could  now  be  asked  or  conceded,  and  we  left  his  house  for 
that  of  Mr.  Gonzalez,  he  first  throwing  over  my  shoulders  a 

*  I  suppose  I  may  express  my  opinions  on  such  a  subject  with  impunity,  be- 
ing myself  "to  the  manner  born."  I  remember  once  attending  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Brazilian  Historical  and  Geographical  Society,  at  which  the 
emperor  presided  in  person,  and  though  somewhat  familiar  with  the  liberty 
of  speech  enjoyed  in  that  empire,  was  not  a  little  surprizeri  to  hear  the 
orator  of  the  dead,  an  artist,  while  pronouncing  a  well-merited  eulogium 
upon  some  of  the  members  lately  deceased  (and  who  numbered  among  them 
the  best  statesmen  and  patriots  wh.ch  the  country  had  produced) ,  reflect 
severely  not  only  upon  the  emperor,  but  upon  his  father  Don  Pedro  and  his 
grandfather  Don  Joas  HI.  Meeting  him  afterward,  I  enquired  the  reason  of 
tbis  attack,  when  the  orator  informed  me  that  he  had  thus  w^ritten  it,  because 
in  the  first  place  it  was  the  truth,  and  in  the  second,  from  a  desire  to  show  the 
numerous  foreign  officials  present,  that  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  was  willing 
to  hear  even  a  disagreeable  truth  from  his  own  suhj -cts.  "  I'here  is  a 
divinity  that  doth  hedge  in  a  king,"  and  no  where  is  the  sanctity  so  obsti- 
nately insisted  upon  as  by  the  many-headed  sovereigns  in  a  republic,  who 
are  frequently  unwilling  to  hear  a  disagreeable  truth,  even  from  one  of  their 
fellow  sovereigns. 


218  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


valuable  Vicuna  jponcho^  of  native  Peruvian  manufacture,  of  a 
beautiful  texture  and  great  rarity,  which  he  insisted  upon  my 
accepting  as  a  token  of  his  esteem,  and  as  a  remembrance  of  my 
brief  sojourn  in  Mendoza.* 

Arriving  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Gonzalez,  we  found  that  my  bag- 
gage had  been  carefully  packed  in  the  portmanteau  containing 
the  mails,  my  horse  ready  saddled,  pistols  loaded,  the  courier 
and  postilion  awaiting  only  my  arrival ;  so  putting  on  my  spurs, 
and  taking  an  affectionate  leave  of  Mr.  G.  and  the  Doctor,  whose 
kindness  I  shall  ever  remember  with  gratitude,  I  mounted  my 
horse,  and  at  a  rapid  gallop  soon  left  behind  me  the  ancient  and 
loyal  city  of  Mendoza.  Gallop^  gallojp^  now  I  had  really  com- 
menced my  journey  !  and  dashing  over  the  pampas  with  the  cool 
breeze  of  the  morning  fanning  my  face,  I  felt  that  I  had  entered 
upon  a  new  and  more  exhilarating  existence. 

^  Since  writing  the  above  I  met  an  English  gentleman  who  visited  Men- 
doza a  few  months  after  my  departure,  and  by  whom  1  was  informed  that 
my  kind  and  warm-hearted  friend  the  Doctor  was  dead,  "having  been  assas- 
sinated by  some  unknown  person  while  in  his  bed. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


A  GALLOP   ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 

March  14. — About  a  league  from  Mendoza  we  obtained  regular 
post  horses,  those  upon  which  we  left  having  been  obtained  only 
for  our  conveyance  to  this  point.  Having  speedily  effected  the 
change,  we  were  soon  off  again  at  a  rapid  pace  on  our  route, 
which  led  us  through  a  country  well  watered,  fertile,  well  culti- 
vated, producing  various  fruits,  and  presenting  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  barren  travesia  extending  between  Villa  Vicencio 
and  Mendoza.  The  trees  were  all  exotic,  consisting  principally 
of  the  apple,  peach,  and  the  invariable  poplar,  while  everything 
gave  evidence  that  the  luxuiiance  of  vegetation  was  attributable 
to  the  efforts  of  man.  Our  party  now  consisted  of  three  persons, 
the  government  courier  who  accompanies  the  mail  from  Mendoza 
to  Buenos  Ayres  ;  a  man  of  about  fifty  years,  tall  and  well- 
formed,  though  apparently  somewhat  heavy  for  his  long  monthly 
rides  at  a  furious  pace  across  the  plains,  which  had  been  his 
employment  for  some  eighteen  years.  His  dress  was  jacket  and 
trowsers,  which  he  occasionally  varied  by  adopting  the  Chiripa^ 
a  piece  of  square  red  flannel,  which  is  secured  round  the  loins, 
thus  covering  a  portion  of  the  legs,  and  worn  over  white  cotton 
drawers  fringed  with  lace  at  the  bottom.  The  Chiripa  is  a 
favourite  dress  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  though  not 
worn  so  generally  in  Mendoza,  San  Luis,  or  San  Juan,  and  is 
supposed  to  possess  peculiar  advantages  in  the  way  of  coolness  in 


* 


S20  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


ridini^.  In  my  own  opinion,  which  the  courier's  experience  cor- 
roborated, it  has  disadvantages  for  which  the  coolness  by  no 
means  compensates.  His  hat  was  a  Panama,  which  is  very  gener- 
ally worn  in  these  provinces,  and  round  his  waist  he  wore  a  cart- 
ridge belt  secured  by  Mexican  dollars  in  lieu  of  buttons,  and  was 
further  ornamented  by  some  sixteen  others.  His  poncho,  holster, 
pistols  and  silver-sheathed  knife  which  was  stuck  inside  of  his 
cartridge  belt  behind,  in  addition  to  his  enormous  jingling  spurs, 
completed  his  equipment.  The  dress  of  the  postilion  whom  we 
exchanged  with  the  horses,  was  similar  to  that  of  the  courier, 
but  much  inferior  in  quality.  His  duty  was  to  return  with  the 
horses  and  to  carry  the  mail  portmanteau,  which,  suh  rosa^  con- 
tained all  the  spare  clothes  with  which  I  thought  it  desirable  to 
encumber  myself.  I  have  frequently  smiled  at  their  astonishment 
at  its  weight,  and  their  various  opinions  as  to  what  the  Mendoza 
government  was  communicating  to  Buenos  Ayres,  which  made 
it  the  heaviest  mail  which  had  traversed  the  country  since 
the  last  Unitarian  pronunciamento  had  carried  consternation 
through  the  provinces.  The  two  blankets  presented  me  by  my 
friend  Astorga,  were  also  carried  by  the  postilion  upon  his  saddle, 
and  in  addition  to  my  serape,  formed  my  bed  at  night. 

My  own  dress  and  accoutrements,  I  found  convenient,  and  will 
describe  them  for  the  benefit  of  future  travellers.  My  hat  was 
of  slouched  felt,  of  the  style  called  Genoa,  of  a  light  colour,  and 
sufficiently  thick  to  prevent  the  rays  of  the  sun  penetrating. 
My  coat  was  a  thin  woollen  frock  of  a  light  colour,  and  well 
supplied  with  exterior  pockets,  grey  lancer  trowsers  foxed,  and 
worn  with  leather  straps  over  boots  of  medium  thickness  fitted 
with  box  spurs.  A  poncho  and  pair  of  holster  pistols  completed 
my  equipments,  the  most  satisfactory  I  have  yet  found  after  mak- 
ing various  experiments.  My  serape  was  between  the  saddle  blan- 
kets, where  it  would  not  become  wet  with  perspiration,  and  caused 
the  saddle  to  sit  more  lightly  on  the  horse.  In  consideration  of 
being  a  passenger,  and  a  gentleman  who  had  forked  up  liberally, 
and  who  had  been  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  courier  by  his 


A   GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 


221 


friend  Senor  Gonzalez,  I  was  not  expected  even  to  carry  the 
chifres  containing  the  spirits,  which  were  born  either  by  Don 
Antonio  or  saddled  upon  the  poor  postilion,  who,  perched  upon 
my  thick  blankets,  almost  concealed  by  the  mail  bag,  which,  per- 
haps, may  have  contained  one  found  of  letters  in  addition  to  my 
holiday  coat,  divers  trowsers,  shirts,  etc.,  and  surrounded  by  the 
numerous  articles  he  was  called  upon  to  make  room  for,  reminded 
me  of  a  flying  Santa  Claus,  as  he  dashed  over  the  plains  at  a 
short  gallop.  A  gratuity  of  a  real  or  medio,  or  a  glass  of  grog 
from  the  chifres  generally  compensated  him,  though  my  con- 
science did  not  exculpate  me  so  freely  for  the  imposition  upon 
the  uncomplaining  animals.  By  the  way,  it  is  somewhat  aston- 
ishing that  fniong  the  numerous  philanthropic  movements  of  the 
present  age,  when  so  many  hundreds  of  thousands  are  annually 
expended  for  the  conversion  and  benefit  of  various  portions  of 
the  human  race  who  have  happily  succeeded  by  extirpating  the 
tail,  in  removing  the  only  tangible  difference  between  them  and 
the  genus  simia,  that  no  societies  are  established  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  the  condition  of  the  noble  and  generous  horse  who  gives 
his  last  breath  under  the  saddle  of  his  hard  taskmaster.  In  our 
philanthrophy  and  morbid  sympathy  for  those  who  do  not  ask  or 
require  it,  we  forget  and  maltreat  the  useful  animals  who  have 
assisted  so  powerfully  to  elevate  our  race.  When  it  becomes 
generally  known  that  the  benighted  Hindoos  are  in  advance  of  us 
in  this  particular,  I  have  little  doubt  that  our  philanthropists  will 
rapidly  make  up  for  lost  time,  and  it  would  be  no  cause  of  sur- 
prise if  even  the  existing  generation  should  witness  the  establish- 
ment of  hospitals  for  dyspeptic  alligators,  or  asylums  for  super- 
annuated grizzly  bears,  with  whose  virtues  and  wants  the  progress 
of  southern  and  western  emigration  is  daily  making  us  more 
familiar.  Should  any  of  the  chosen  vessels  act  upon  the  sugges- 
tion which  with  due  humility  I  submit  to  their  consideration,  I 
have  little  doubt  that  their  claims  could  be  as  fully  substantiated 
as  those  of  the  slave-hunting  negroes  on  the  African  coast,  and 
the  interesting  cannibals  of  the  Fejee  Islands,  who  have  for  some 


222  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


time  been  excellent  sinkiog  funds  for  the  spare  cash  of  the  cre- 
dulous. 

But  as  our  friend  Don  Walter,  the  author  of  Deck  and 
Port,"  frequently  inquires  after  an  episode,  "  What  has  all  this 
to  do  with  doubling  Cape  Horn  ?"  what  has  this  to  do  with 
crossing  the  pampas  ?  The  echo  answers  nothing.  So  to  use  a 
time-honoured  quotation  which  has  perhaps  appeared  at  least 
once  in  every  popular  book  of  travels  during  the  present  cen- 
tury, Revenous  a  nous  mouton^'^''  which  in  my  particular 
instance  will  translate — Leaving  philanthropists,  grizzlies  and 
alligators,  as  also  the  Fej  ses  and  negroes  whom  the  advocates  of 
the  unity  would  fain  libel  us  by  saddling  upon  the  high  caste 
Caucasian,  we  will  return  to  our  horse.  * 

A  few  hours'  ride  and  Don  Antonio  and  myself  were  sworn 
friends,  a  desirable  state  of  things,  to  which  my  gift  of  a  poncho 
before  starting,  and  my  two  thick  blankets  at  our  journey's  end 
in  perspective,  I  have  no  doubt  contributed,  though  I  am  willing 
to  do  justice  to  his  many  generous  and  noble  traits,  which 
I  had  frequently  occasion  to  admire  during  my  journey. 
During  the  morning  he  dropped  alongside  me  and  defined  our 
respective  positions,  which  was  perfectly  satisfactory  to  both  par- 
ties. He  supported  his  own  dignity  as  a  government  officer  by 
declining  to  call  me  'patron^  master,  or  employer,  but  would  call 
me  comjpanero  or  companion.  I  was,  however,  to  have,  under  all 
circumstances,  the  second  best  horse,  the  first  cut  of  the  roast^ 
the  first  drink  at  the  ckifre^  and  was  not  to  have  the  trouble  of 
saddling  or  bridling  my  own  animal,  which  was  to  be  done  as  an 
understood  favour  by  either  the  postilion,  the  ceurier,  or  by  one 
of  his  numerous  compadres  whom  we  afterward  encountered  at 
every  post-house.  In  conclusion,  it  was  thoroughly  understood 
between  the  two  high  contracting  parties  that  Don  Antonio  could 
not  delf^y  the  mail  if  I  should  become  sick  or  fatigued,  but  that 
there  should  always  exist  between  us  a  certain  sympathy,  mag- 
netic or  galvanic,  probably  the  latter,  as  it  was  originally  con- 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS   THE  PAMPAS. 


223 


ducted  through  a  metallic  medium,  so  that  he  would  always  be 
sick  or  fatigued  at  the  same  time. 

Whip  and  spur,  whip  and  spur,  and  we  dash  over  the  plains, 
marking  our  progress  with  a  column  of  dust,  which  hung  heavily 
in  the  air  long  after  we  passed.  The  country  was  still  well  irri- 
gated and  cultivated,  though  none  of  the  golden  fields  of  wheat 
so  characteristic  of  a  Chilian  landscape  were  visible  on  this  side 
of  the  mountains.  About  mid-day  we  crossed  at  two  points  a 
small  river  with  shingle  beaches,  and  soon  afterward  arrived  at 
the  house  of  a  friend  of  Don  Antonio,  who  humanely  suggested 
that  being  the  first  day,  it  might  be  well  to  indulge  in  a  siesta^ 
which  would  leave  us  ample  time  to  finish  our  day's  journey 
in  the  cool  breeze  which  almost  invariably  accompanies  the  de- 
clining sun.  Not  having  slept  during  the  previous  night,  of  course 
I  was  not  averse  to  the  proposition,  and,  after  eating  some  fruit 
which  the  family  brought  me,  I  threw  myself  on  a  bed  and  was 
speedily  revelling  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus,  though  not  until  I 
heard  my  friend  Don  Antonio  expressing  his  fears  sotto  voce  to 
our  host  that  his  comjpaftero  could  not  endure  the  journey  to 
Buenos  Ayres.  Veremos,"  we  shall  see,  Don  Antonio,  thought 
I ;  to-day  is  scarcely  a  fair  test,  as  I  must  confess  I  have  seldom 
felt  more  like  sleeping  and  less  like  travelling  on  horseback,  and 
wfth  that  I  incontinently  indulged  my  fatigued  senses  in  that  sort 
of  repose  which  none  but  a  thoroughly  tired  and  drowsy  man 
can  appreciate.  I  learned  afterwards  that  during  my  siesta^ 
which  lasted  some  three  hours,  a  sort  of  coroner's  inquest  was 
held  over  my  senseless  body,  in  which  it  was  decided  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  carry  me  much  farther  at  the  rapid  rate 
which  Don  Antonio  was  obliged  to  travel,  and  when  I  had  again 
mounted,  no  anxious  wayfarer  ever  examined  more  intently 
the  withers  and  wind  of  his  horse  than  he  did  the  ex- 
pression of  my  countenance,  the  state  of  my  eyes,  and 
the  bend  of  my  back.  The  result  appeared  satisfactory, 
as  he  shouted  the  cry  of  the  courier^  Pega  fuego  al  campoy 
"  Set  fire  to  the  plain,"  an  equivalent  to  our  "  fire  up,"  and 


224 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


dashing  spurs  into  his  horse's  flanks,  we  dashed  off  across  the 
plains  at  rapid  gallop,  our  faces  cooled  by  the  evening  breeze, 
and  our  eyes  cheered  by  the  signs  of  cultivation  on  either  side 
of  the  road,  and  by  the  rivulets  which  brought  fertility.  Cot- 
tages were  scattered  along  the  roadside,  and  the  graceful  poplars 
showed  the  attention  which  had  been  bestowed  upon  reclaiming 
the  land  which,  without  their  shade  and  the  irrigation,  would  be 
a  desert  waste.  An  hour  before  sunset  we  dashed  into  the  little 
scattering  village  of  Retama,  with  our  horses  still  comparatively 
fresh,  and  dismounting  at  the  post-house,  the  courier  announced 
his  intention  of  awaiting  the  rising  of  the  moon  before  proceed- 
ing farther.  The  post-master  was  also  a  magistrate,  and  having 
some  legal  case  to  decide,  his  court-yard  was  filled  with  guachos^ 
with  their  long  spurs,  ponchos  and  dogs,  though  I  looked  in  vain 
for  the  ferocity  of  expression  which  I  had  seen  among  the  sol- 
diers in  Mendoza,  and  which  I  had  been  led  to  expect  among 
the  denizens  of  these  plains.  The  post-mistress,  a  quite  good- 
looking,  matronly  personage,  having  heard  my  rank  and  titles 
from  Don  Antonio,  her  esteemed  com'padre^  in  whose  hands  my 
importance  did  not  suffer  in  the  least,  and  heard  considerably 
more  than  he  knew  of  my  past  history,  kindly  invited  me  into  the 
garden  to  eat  grapes,  which  hung  in  luscious  clusters  in  several 
avenues  more  than  one  hundred  yards  in  length.  With  the 
native  kindness  and  good  taste  of  most  southern  women,  she 
also  plucked  and  presented  me  with  a  bouquet  of  flowers 
when  we  returned  to  the  house.  In  passing  through  one  of  the 
rooms  to  obtain  a  light  for  a  cigar,  I  saw  a  pair  of  pretty  senor- 
itas,  and  learned  that  there  was  strong  probabilities  of  a  fandango 
that  evening,  for  which  I  determined  to  prepare  myself  by  a 
short  nap  in  the  piazza  on  my  serajpe.  But  alas  for  the  weakness 
of  human  nature.  When  I  was  restored  again  to  consciousness, 
it  was  not  by  the  soft  hand  of  the  fair  seiloritas  who  had  visited 
me  in  my  dreams,  but  by  the  rough  shake  of  Don  Antonio,  who 
informed  me  of  three  interesting  facts — viz.  :  that  the  moon, 
had  risen,  that  it  was  after  midnight,  and  that  he  only  awaited 


A   GALLOP   ACROSS   THE  PAMPAS. 


225 


my  serape  to  complete  the  saddling  of  my  horse,  and  my  rising, 
to  set  out  on  our  journey.  I  have  read  of  men  compounding  with 
the  evil  one  for  a  few  more  years  of  life  ;  I  have  seen  the  time 
when  I  would  have  almost  paid  for  hours  of  sleep  in  years  of  life, 
and  this  was  one  of  the  occasions  ;  I  had  lost,  too,  the  fandango 
and  supper,  to  which  Don  Antonio  would  not  allow  me  to  be 
called.  I  was  never  again  to  see  the  pretty  brunettes,  whose 
appearance  had  charmed  me  the  evening  before.  Boot,  boot,  and 
to  saddle,  and  as  we  galloped  out  of  the  court  yard,  on  our  mid- 
night journey,  the  noise  of  our  horses'  hoofs,  perchance,  awakened 
the  fair  sleepers,  who  may  have  remarked  with  a  yawn  and  a  snore, 
"  Se  va  el  Gringo.'^'^'^  The  gringos  off, sic  transit?''  The  traveller 
remains  not  long  enough  in  one  place  to  make  a  lasting  impression, 
or  to  merit  a  more  profound  expression  of  regret  at  departure. 

March  L5. — Our  fresh  horses  soon  carried  us  beyond  the  vil- 
lage of  Eetama,  and  as  the  roads  were  good,  we  seldom  broke  in 
upon  our  short  post  horse  gallop,  which  our  horses  could  better 
endure  during  the  night  than  in  the  sultry  heat  of  the  day.  For 
about  three  leagues  our  road  conducted  us  through  a  country 
tolerably  well  cultivated,  after  which,  it  led  through  a  travesia^ 
without  water  or  cultivation,  for  the  remaining  distance  between 
the  two  posts.  At  early  daylight,  we  had  accomplished  about 
twelve  leagues,  and  arrived  at  the  post  of  Santa  Kosa,  where  a 
pretty  stream  of  water  and  cultivation  took  the  place  of  the  bar- 
renness which  had  preceded.  While  we  drank  our  matte  and 
discussed  a  cigar,  the  peons  were  bringing  in  the  horses,  which 
were  speedily  saddled  and  ready  for  the  journey.  Mine  in  this 
particular  instance  was  a  noble-looking  beast,  in  fine  condition, 
and  by  his  impatient  stamping  and  neighing,  showed  that  he  had 
not  long  been  subjected  to  the  discipline  of  the  bridle  and  spur. 

^  T  must  take  the  liberty  of  differing  from  the  talented  and  witty  author 
of  Los  Gringos,  as  to  his  translation  of  this  word,  as  the  English  expression 
green-horn,  does  not  cover  the  ground.  The  term  is  never  applied  to  na- 
tives, however  green  they  may  be,  and  I  think  a  more  correct  definition 
would  be  "  outside  barbarian." 


226 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


While  two  men  held  him,  I  mounted,  and  giving  him  the  rein 
to  the  courier's  cry,  fuego  al  caM'po^'^  started  off  like  the  wind 
over  the  level  road,  which  for  some  time  accompanied  the  stream. 
Among  the  many  horses  which  I  rode  during  my  journey,  I  never 
met  one  equal  to  this,  for  speed,  easiness  of  gait,  and  generosity. 
To  the  spur  he  was  evidently  yet  unused,  and  so  sensitive  and 
alive  to  the  indignity  of  the  whip,  that  did  I  but  raise  my  hand  to 
secure  my  hat  more  firmly  upon  my  head,  he  would  bound  for- 
ward with  a  suddenness,  which  at  times  nearly  left  me  behind 
him  upon  the  plain.  From  post  to  post,  a  distance  estimated  at 
thirteen  leagues,  though  in  reality,  I  should  suppose,  more  than 
forty  miles,  he  carried  me  at  a  bounding  gallop,  without  my  draw- 
ing rein,  or  applying  whip  or  spur,  a  feat  which  may  seem  almost 
incredible  to  those  who  are. unacquainted  with  the  endurance  of 
the  jpamjpa  horses.  It  is  true  that  the  road  was  nearly  level,  and 
as  smooth  as  a  race  course,  and  that  the  post  was  concluded 
before  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  while  the  plains  were  cooled  by 
the  morning  breeze.  One  cannot  help  feeling  an  admiration, 
approaching  to  regard,  for  anything  which  performs  well  the 
part  assigned  to  it,  whether  it  be  machinery,  man,  or  the  lower 
animals  ;  and  I  confess  I  felt  more  respect  for  the  noble  steed, 
which  I  thus  accidentally  encountered,  than  I  have  frequently 
done  for  many  of  the  stolid  and  equally  soulless  specimens  of 
humanity  whom  I  have  met,  particularly  among  the  uneducated 
portions  of  the  human  race,  who  claim  to  have  been  created  in 
God's  own  image,  and  have  accorded,  at  least  in  part,  with  the 
wise  kino;  of  the  Jews,  Sooltan  Soliman,  that  certain  men  have 
no  pre-eminence  over  the  beast."  For  all  is  vanity.  Had  it 
been  practicable  to  have  conveyed  this  horse  home,  I  would 
have  become  his  possessor,  which  would  have  involved  an  out- 
lay of  about  four  dollars,  when  his  back  should  never  have  been 
profaned  with  a  whip,  or  his  flanks  with  a  spur.  As  it  is,  he  has 
been  destined  to  carry  the  couriers,  Guachos,  and  the  passing 
travellers,  unknown  and  undistinguished  from  the  vulgar  herd, 
above  which,  even  my  heart-felt  eulogium  will  be  unable  to  raise  him. 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS   THE  PAMPAS. 


227 


Our  route  led  through  a  cultivated  country  for  the  most 
part,  though  not  so  thickly  inhabited  as  that  traversed  on  yester- 
day. Between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  we  arrived  at  Dorraida, 
the  end  of  the  stage,  which  we  intended  to  pass  without  break- 
fasting, but  were  prevented  by  another  arrival  soon  after  our  own. 
The  post  house,  which  was  constructed  of  adohes,  contained  three 
or  four  rooms,  had  ground  floors,  and  a  scanty  furniture,  the  bed- 
steads rude  in  construction,  with  strips  of  green  hide  to  receive 
and  support  the  sleeper,  and  supplying  for  most  part,  the  defici- 
ency of  chairs  and  stools.  The  women,  though  not  pretty,  were 
tidy,  and  like  the  majority  of  our  hostesses  on  the  road,  kind  and 
communicative,  and  on  particularly  intimate  terms  with  Don  x\.n- 
tonio,  whose  responsibility  must  be  immense,  if  god-faihtr  to  half 
the  children  of  the  women  who  on  his  extensive  beat  call  him 

com'padre?'^ 

While  awaiting  the  horses  which  had  already  been  sent 
for,  a  new  party  arrived,  also  on  post  horses,  but  coming 
from  the  opposite  direction.  As  they  entered  I  was  not  long  in 
identifying  their  nationality,  and  while  the  courier  opened  upon 
the  German,  whose  knowledge  of  the  language  indicated  a  long 
residence  in  the  country,  I  commenced  a  series  of  inquisitorial 
proceedings  against  the  other,  whom  I  recognized  in  an  instant 
as  a  countryman.  He  bore  my  questioning  with  a  good  grace,  and 
answered  as  well  as  he  could  with  his  limited  knowledge  of  Spanish  ; 
and  his  surprise  was  unbounded  when  I,  at  length,  announced 
myself,  also,  as  an  American ;  it  being,  to  judge  from  his  man- 
ner, the  last  place  where  he  would  have  expected  to  meet  a  mem- 
ber of  the  universal  Yankee  nation,  and  last  of  all,  an  officer  in 
the  navy.  Of  course  we  fraternized — men  speaking  the  same  lan- 
guage, are  prone  to  do  so  in  remote  regions  ;  and  having  all  deter- 
mined to  breakfast  sociably  together,  we  sat  down  to  enjoy  a 
cigar,  and  give  each  other  accounts  of  the  road  which  each  of  us 
had  traversed.  I  speedily  learnt  to  my  annoyance,  that  my 
countryman  was  an  agent  for  the  sale  of  Brandreth's  pills,  and 
almost  felt  inclined  to  consign  Brandreth  and  pills  to  the  great 


228 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


unmentionable,  wishing  his  gentlemanly  representative  a  better 
profession.  Confound  Brandreth's  pills,  thought  I,  after  hearing 
the  announcement. 

During  my  journeys  in  the  interior  of  Brazil,  in  1843  and  '44, 
by  dint  of  considerable  expenditure  of  money,  immense  fatigue, 
and  divers  risks  of  life  and  limb,  I  penetrated  the  wilderness  of 
St.  Paul's,  far  beyond  all  former  travellers,  having  reached  the 
region  inhabited  by  undomesticated  Indians,  and  beyond  all  civi- 
lization ;  but  upon  returning  to  the  settlements  with  the  compla- 
cency of  a  man  who  had  performed  some  extraordinary  and 
meritorious  achievement,  found  I  had  not  advanced  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  beyond  my  adopted  countryman,  Brandreth's  pills, 
and  now  to  find  not  only  the  pills,  but  the  agent,  the  representa- 
tive of  the  venerable  Brandreth  himself,  in  the  interior  of  the 
Province  of  Mendoza,  where  1  expected  to  find  the  ground  sacred 
to  enterprising  travellers,  who  travel  for  the  cause  of  science,  or 
for  love  of  adventure,  it  was  too  great  a  disappointment.  I  doubt 
whether  a  full  dose  of  the  pills  in  question,  could  have  exercised 
so  powerful  an  effect  upon  my  nervous  system.  With  fear  and 
trembling,  I  enquired  where  Brandreth's  pills  had  not  and  would 
not  travel,  intending  to  mark  down  that  country  for  my  next 
long  shore  cruise,  bat  received  no  satisfactory  reply.  They  are 
in  effect  ubiquitous  ;  so,  hereafter,  when  any  voyager  informs  the 
public  that  he  has  advanced  beyond  them,  I  shall  instantly  set 
him  down  in  my  own  mind,  as  an  enterprising  man  and  a  great 
traveller.  Nothwithstanding  this  disappointment  an  hour  passed 
agreeably  while  awaiting  our  breakfast,  and  while  I  gave  my 
countryman  a  letter  to  Dr.  Dow,  at  Mendoza,  he  reciprocated  by 
giving  me  letters  to  Buenos  Ayres ;  and  so  rejoiced  was  I  to  meet 
a  countryman,  that  I  verily  believe  while  the  four  of  us  were 
cozily  eating  casuela  out  of  the  same  earthern  pot,  that  if  Dr. 
Brandreth  himself  had  appeared  in  rm_perswi<2. ,  and  wished  to 
add  a  fifth  spoon,  and  his  efibrts  to  putting  its  contents  out  of 
sight,  that  I  should  have  raised  no  objection,  and  would  have, 
probably,  forgiven  him  all  the  annoyance  he  had  caused  me,  and 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 


229 


tlie  injury  he  had  done  my  reputation  as  a  traveller,  and  have 
fraternized.  The  chicken  broth  having  been  finished,  and  the 
bones  effectually  picked,  we  had  breakfasted,  and  felt  obliged  to 
mount  and  continue  our  respective  journeys.  Our  companions, 
at  breakfast,  were  obliged  to  ride  the  stage  which  we  had  just 
passed  over,  on  the  same  horses  which  brought  us,  though  wa 
were  not  obliged .  to  receive  their  tired  animals.  This  is  one 
great  advantage  of  travelling  with  the  courier,  as  the  Grovern- 
ment  exacts  for  him  and  his  companions,  fresh  horses  at  every 
stage.  I  really  felt  sad  when  I  saw  my  countryman,  the  agent, 
mount  the  horse  which  had  carried  me  so  gallantly,  that  morning, 
over  the  same  ground  which  it  had  now  to  retrace,  with  a  heavier 
weight  and  in  the  heat  of  the  day.  The  splendid  maxim,  the 
merciful  man  is  merciful  to  the  beast,"  is  unknown,  at  least,  to 
the  laity  in  South  America,  and  as  they  have  upon  them  naught 
but  the  selfish  checks  of  self-interest,  little  mercy  can  be  expected 
toward  the  animal  whose  market  value  is  very  little  greater  than 
the  fare  paid  by  a  passenger  from  post  to  post.  I  have  never 
thought  ill  of  the  Catholic  priesthood  for  prohibiting  the  reading 
of  the  Bible  to  the  vulgar,  as  there  is,  indeed,  much  which  the 
untutored  mind  cannot  reconcile,  and  as  the  whole  fabric  of  the 
religion  is  based  upon  faith^  that  faith  may  well  be  extended  to 
an  implicit  reliance  in  the  interpretations  of  the  church,  and  the 
injunctions  of  their  ghostly  advisers ;  but  I  have  always  seen  the 
want  of  a  collection  of  its  best  maxims,  such  as  that  quoted  above, 
which  ought  to  be  universally  disseminated  among  the  people,  in 
order  to  form  a  ^'proverbial  religion.'^'*  The  Mahometans,  in  this 
respect,  are  better  supplied  than  the  Christians  ;  and  though  com- 
paratively few  are  able  to  read  the  Koran,  all  are  acquainted  with 
its  most  beautiful  texts,  as  well  as  the  sayings  of  the  prophet 
which  tradition  has  handed  down  to  them.  All  good  Mussulmen, 
whether  learned  or  unlearned,  know  that  Mahomet  anathematized 
the  man,  "  who  sold  a  slave,  injured  a  fruit-bearing  tree,  or 
made  lime  of  chisseled  marble,"  that  a  day  passed  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  was  worth  seventy  years  of  prayer,"  and 
11  ^ 


230 


CHILI  AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


the  ink  of  the  wise  man  was  more  valuable  in  the  ejes  of  xillab 
than  the  blood  of  the  martyr."    But  as  Don  Walter  would  say, 
what  has  the  ink  of  the  wise  man  to  do  "with  doubling  Cape 
Horn  ?"   So  mounting  our  horses  and  taking  an  affectionate  leave, 
and  promising  to  report  each  other's  progress  at  the  respective 
sea-ports  on  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic,  which  was  in  due  course  of 
time  fully  accomplished,  as  I  have  learned  from  several  sources, 
the  word  was  Adios,  adios    fnego  al  campo^'^'^  and  off  we  went  on 
our  respective  routes,  never,  perhaps,  to  meet  again  in  the  broad 
j>a?njpas  of  life.    The  country,  though  a  nominal  plain,  was  now 
broken  up  somewhat  by   ravines,  and  was  covered  with  low 
brushes,  which  inequality,  added  to  the  heat  of  the  day,  made  our 
journey  over  the  next  stage  slower  than  the  two  which  had  pre- 
ceded it.    However,  we  arrived  at  Coro  Corto,  the  end  of  the 
stage,  about  3  p.m.,  finding  the  latter  part  of  the  route  more 
thickly  inhabited  and  better  watered.   As  we  had  journeyed  about 
ninety-six  miles,  according  to  the  computations  generally  received, 
we  determined  to  tarry  for  the  night,  especially  as  the  next  'post 
house  held  out,  according  to  Don  Antonio,  but  few  inducements 
in  the  way  of  food  and  lodging  for  a  night's  stay,  and  was,  more- 
over, liable  to  an  inroad  of  the  Pampa  Indians,  who  were,  at  the 
time,  ravaging  some  settlements  a  few  days^  journey  in  advance. 
The  post  of  Coro  Corto  consisted  of  three  houses,  built  on  three 
sides  of  a  square,  of  the  invariable  adobes,  and  one  story  in  height. 
The  floors  were  clay,  but  there  was  an  appearance  of  cleanliness 
about  the  premises,  which  augured  favourably  for  our  supper,  in 
which  we  were  not  disappointed ;  as  at  dark  we  sat  down  to  a 
nicely  cooked  casutlay  and  enjoyed,  moreover,  the  somewhat  unu- 
sual luxury  of  a  dish,  spoon,  knife  and  fork,  for  each  individual 
present.    After  supper,  we  made  our  beds  in  the  cool  air  of  the 
court  yard,  using  our  saddles  for  pillows,  and  by  the  time  we 
finished  our  cigar,  were  perfectly  prepared  to  consign  ourselves  ta 
the  rest  so  essential  after  a  hard  day 's  journey,  with  a  more  tedious 
one  in  perspective  for  the  morrow. 

March  16. — At  about  2  30  the  indefatigable  Don  Antonio  had 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 


231 


aroused  me  with  the  intimation  that  it  was  time  to  saddle  up,  as 
the  moon  had  risen,  and  we  must  make  our  stage  by  sunrise,  else 
we  could  not  reach  San  Luis,  owing  to  the  great  heat  of  the  day, 
and  the  bad  quality  of  the  horses.  Saddling  up,  and  fortifying 
our  stomachs  with  a  little  matte^  and  smoking  the  invariable  cigar- 
ito,  we  mounted,  and,  taking  leave  of  our  entertainers,  who  had 
all  risen  to  prepare  our  matte  and  see  us  off,  we  were  upon  our 
route  at  3  a.  m.  The  country  was  now  somewhat  broken  by 
ravines,  though  it  could  not  be  considered  hilly,  and  was  strewn 
with  loose  round  stones  and  sand,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  an 
ancient  bed  of  the  sea,  or  some  vast  inland  lake.  A  stunted 
growth  of  hardy  bushes  was  all  the  sterile  plains  could  produce 
in  the  absence  of  all  moisture.  At  sunrise  we  crossed  the  river 
Pisaguadero,  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  provinces  of 
San  Luis  and  Mendoza,  and  near  the  banks  of  which  is  the  mise- 
rable post  house  bearing  the  same  name.  This  river,  which  is 
deep  but  narrow,  is  the  outlet  to  one  of  the  salt  lakes  of  the  in- 
terior. The  water  is  extremely  brackish  and  bitter,  while  the 
banks  are  covered  by  saline  incrustations.  The  clay  of  the  ravine 
through  which  this  river  passes  has  a  horizontal  stratification,  and 
the  whole  topography,  as  well  as  the  geology  of  this  region,  would 
leave  us  to  infer  that  a  portion  of  the  country  is  yet  in  the  state 
of  transition  between  the  bed  of  a  salt  lake,  or  the  ocean  and 
dry  land. 

The  post  house  at  which  we  soon  arrived  after  crossing  the 
river,  was  the  most  miserable  I  had  yet  seen,  being  constructed  of 
wattles  covered  with  clay,  and  roofed  with  coarse  grass.  One 
room  was  all  the  hovel  contained,  and  the  many  openings  in  the 
wall  precluded  the  idea  of  anything  like  privacy.  The  only  in- 
mates of  this  house  appeared  to  be  an  old  woman,  a  ragged  ^eon^ 
who  was  to  be  our  postilion  through  the  next  stage,  and  a  nut- 
brown  girl  of  some  sixteen  summers.  The  latter  was  dirty  in 
the  extreme,  and  wore  but  a  single  garment,  which  obscured 
without  concealing  her  charms,  and,  as  she  was  preparing  our 
humble  repast  of  beef-bone  broth,  which  we  devoured  out  of  the 


232         GHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


same  dirty-looking  earthenware  vessel,  I  could  not  help  specula- 
ting on  the  change  which,  in  a  few  years,  could  be  made  in  her  by 
transplanting  her  to  a  civilizad  community,  and  giving  her  the  ad- 
vantages of  education  and  a  Frenoh  m  odiste.  Women  are  pro- 
verbially quick  in  attaining  a  certain  degree  of  refinement,  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that  but  a  short  time  would  elapse  before  this 
slovenly,  bare-legged  girl  could  be  transformed  into  a  reigning 
belle,  even  in  a  large  city.  Our  breakfast  was  in  keeping  with 
the  appearance  of  the  house,  and  even  the  water  was  so  brackish 
as  to  be  scarce  potable.  After  some  delay  the  horses  arrived, 
and  my  spirits  fell  incontinently  at  their  forlorn  and  half-starved 
appearance.* 

The  courier  was  evidently  prepared  for  the  apparition,  and 
only  indulged  in  a  prolonged  and  melancholy  whistle  as  he  pro- 
ceeded to  saddle  up.  As  the  horses  were  ill  able  to  bear  the 
weight  of  the  riders,  we  obtained  a  spare  one  to  carry  the  so-called 
mail  bag,  the  legitimate  contents  of  which  might  have  been  car- 
ried in  my  pocket.  When  we  started  it  was  without  enthusiasm, 
and,  for  the  first  time,  Don  Antonio  did  not  indulge  in  his  cheer- 
ing cry  of  ^'  Prende  fwego  al  campo?'^  In  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Disaguadero  a  strong  disagreeable  wind  was  blowing  during  our 
stay,  as  I  was  informed  was  almost  invariably  the  case,  which 
afforded  me  a  clue  to  names  frequently  given  on  Spanish  maps  to 
certain  localities,  as  the  "  Paramo,"  the  desert  or  the  windy  spot. 
This  wind,  which  blew  in  crusts  resembling:  those  which  we  ob- 
serve  in  our  country  on  the  day  prior  to  a  rain  or  storm,  appeared 
to  be  quite  local,  and  confined  to  the  ravine  through  which  the 
river  flowed,  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  The  whole  aspect  of 
this  locality  was  triste  in  the  extreme,  and  the  only  relief  which 
the  eye  and  mind  found  in  dwelling  upon  it  was  the  distant  view 

.  I  learned  from  Don  A.  that  this  family,  notwithstanding  their  miserable 
mode  of  life,  owned  some  five  thousand  cattle,  and  eight  hundred  brood  mares. 
Perhaps  the  insecurity  attributable  to  the  occasional  incursions  of  the  In- 
dians discouraged  them  from  accommodating  themselves  with  better 
quarters.   ^ 


A  GALLOP   ACROSS   THE  PAMPAS. 


233 


of  the  blue  mouutain  of  St.  Luis,  which  now  appeared  above  the 
horizon,  and  which  was  to  be  the  terminus  of  the  day's  ride. 
Our  journey,  commenced  under  disagreeable  auspices,  was  less 
agreeable  even  than  we  anticipated,  and  our  road  led  us  through 
a  dreary  and  barren  country,  where  the  heat  soon  became  intense. 
After  progressing  about  four  leagues  I  found  it  impossible  to  ob- 
tain a  gallop  from  my  poor  horse,  with  the  limited  powers  of  my 
European  spurs,  and  was  obliged  to  exchange  with  the  postilion. 
The  change,  however,  involved  little  improvement,  and  four  leagues 
from  the  next  post  house,  the  horse  carrying  the  mail-bag  was 
completely  worn  out,  and  had  to  be  left  on  the  road  side,  while 
the  postilion  took  it  upon  his  own  horse,  where  his  cruel  spurs 
could  goad  even  a  dying  beast  into  exertion.  Houses  were  occa- 
sionally found  by  the  road  side  during  the  first  part  of  the  jour- 
ney, where  brackish  water,  filled  with  animalcule,  could  be  ob- 
tained from  stagnant  pools,  but  the  last  four  leagues  was  a  barren 
travesia  j  and  utterly  without  water.  The  heat  of  the  sun,  toward 
mid-day,  was  intense,  and  my  legs  became  perfectly  worn  out  with 
incessant  spurring,  and  my  arm  with  the  use  of  the  whip,  while 
my  conscience  smote  me  at  every  leap  of  the  poor  jaded  horse, 
whose  panting  breath,  reeking  sides,  and  bloody  flanks,  shewed 
how  cruelly  he  suffered.  I  could  not,  however,  but  push  on  at 
all  hazards.  I  had  embarked  on  a  devil's  drive,  and  1  must  need 
follow  my  leaders,  who  were  spurring  and  whipping  in  advance, 
little  reeking  how  much  the  poor  beasts  sufi'ered,  or  even  if  they 
lived  longer  than  the  time  sufficient  to  finish  the  post.  Within 
some  two  leagues  of  the  next  post  we  caught  a  view  of  the  level 
plain  extending  to  San  Luis,  and  abutting  upon  the  mountain  be- 
yond it,  and  which,  viewed  through  the  haze  occasioned  by  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun  beating  upon  the  dry  plains,  appeared 
from  the  partial  elevation  on  which  we  were  riding,  like  a  vast 
expanse  of  water.  To  add  to  our  annoyance  our  thirst  became 
excessive  J  promoted  alike  by  the  heat,  and  the  brackish  water 
which  we  had  drank  during  the  day,  added  to  the  almost  super- 
human exertion,  mental  and  physical,  of  spurring  our  jaded  beasts; 


234  CHILI   AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


and  when  we  rode  into  the  post,  which  we  did  for  the  first  and 
only  time  during  the  whole  journey,  at  a  slow  trot,  the  entire 
party,  men  and  animals,  were  dead  beat.  I  look  back  to  that 
stage  with  no  pleasure,  but  with  pain  and  regret.  Of  my  own 
sufferings  and  those  of  my  companions  I  take  no  account.  In 
three  hours  we  were  restored,  and  I  have  thriven  upon  my  an- 
noyances and  deprivations,  but  my  sympathies  were  strongest  for 
the  miserable  horses,  who  I  very  much  fear  never  posted  a  travel- 
ler over  the  same  or  other  route  again.  Being  now  within  thirty 
miles  of  San  Luis,  with  the  prospect  of  good  horses  over  the  next 
stage,  we  felt  authorized  to  indulge  in  a  siesta  ;  so,  after  eating 
some  peaches,  and  drinking  as  much,  indeed  more,  stagnant  water 
than  we  thought  prudent,  we  laid  down  in  company  with  about  a 
dozen  lazy,  dirty,  reckless,  but  gentlemanly  guachos^  and  perhaps 
twice  as  many  dogs,  the  former  and  latter  being  alike  kept  by  the 
owner  of  the  post  and  grazing  farm,  to  watch  his  cattle  and 
afford  them  protection  against  the  marauding  savages,  who  occa- 
sionally visit  the  neighbourhood.  The  reader  may  perhaps  smile 
at  the  solecism  of  a  dirty ^  lazy  and  reckless  gentleman^  but  I  as- 
sure him  that  there  is,  under  all  the  roughness  of  guise,  ignorance 
of  book-learning,  and  the  more  refined  customs  of  society,  an 
intrinsic  politeness,  ease,  unassuming  independence,  conjoined 
with  a  courtesy  and  kindness  to  those  who  require  it  which  would 
distinguish  the  rude  herdsman  of  the  plain  as  having  all  the  more 
necessary  attributes  of  gentility.  The  learned  geologist,  Darwin, 
had  his  attention  called  to  this  peculiarity  of  the  guachos^  during 
his  journeys  on  the  eastern  border  of  these  plains,  and  remarks, 
in  his  ''Journal  of  a  Naturalist,"  that,  though  a  guacho  may  rob  you, 
or  cut  your  throat,  he  always  appears  to  be  the  gentleman.  The 
probability  of  cutting  throats,  or  even  robbery,  I  look  upon  as 
extremely  remote  ;  for,  though  cruel  to  animals,  and  to  his  enemies 
in  battle,  particularly  in  the  civil  wars  which  have  so  frequently 
prevailed  in  this  unfortunate  country,  he  will  seldom  murder,  and 
still  more  seldom  rob.  In  personal  quarrels  they  use  their  knives, 
which  is,  notwithstanding  the  opinions  of  our  bull-dog  progenitors, 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS.  235 


more  respectable  and  more  gentlemanly  than  their  mode  of  de- 
facing Grod's  image  with  their  fists,  the  art  of  doing  which  with 
perfect  impunity  is  absurdly  styled    the  noble  science  of  self- 
defence."    When  men  have  in  reality  injuries  to  avenge,  let  it  be 
done  with  deadly  weapons,  which  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  fre- 
quent recurrence  to  it ;  and  no  skill  in  the  use  of  the  kaife  or 
pistol  can  give  rise  to  so  great  an  inequality  as  exists  between  the 
practiced  pugilist,  and  the  tyro,  whose  sufferings,  however  great, 
only  excite  the  mirth  of  a  brutal  mob  in  that  country  to  which 
this  nohh  art  is  almost  exclusively  confined.    During  my  journeys 
I  met  very  few  knaves  who  were  not  foreigners,  or  who  had  not 
foreign  blood  in  their  veins,  and  I  would  infinitely  rather  trust  my 
life  or  property  in  the  hands  of  \hegnacho  of  the  plains  than  in  the 
hands  of  the  same  number  of  Mr.  Darwin's  countrymen  or  my  own, 
chosen  from  the  same  walk  in  life.    After  an  hour's  siesta^  we 
mounted,  about  3  p.m.,  to  finish  our  day's  journey^  and  prosecuted 
it  with  renewed  vigour  in  the  cool  evening  breeze,  and  with  well 
fed  horses  under  saddles.    The  country  was  generally  covered 
with  bushes,  the  soil  sterile  and  occasionally  sandy.    Until  near 
our  journey's  end  we  saw  but  two  habitations,  both  of  them  suf- 
ficiently miserable  in  appearance.    At  one  I  stopped  and  asked 
for  water,  which  was  served  me  in  the  shell  of  a  cocoa-nut  by  a 
young  girl,  quite  as  lightly  clad,  as  dirty,  and  yet  as  pretty  as  she 
whom  we  met  in  the  morning  at  Disaguadero.    Our  landmark  was 
6till  the  peak  of  San  Luis,  and  having  approached  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  it  we  suddenly  discovered  the  steeple  of  the  church  as 
the  sun  was  setting.    It  was  jast  growing  dark  as  we  galloped 
through  the  street  to  the  fo7ida^  having  accomplished  in  three 
stages  about  one  hundred  and  five  miles. ^.    As  we  expected  to 
remain  over  one  day  1  determined  to  live  at  the  fanda  in  prefer- 
€n-ce  to  residing  at  the  domicile  selected  by  friend  Antonio,  who 
I  was  fearful  might  look  more  closely  to  economy  than  to  clean- 
liness and  comfort,  though,  by  so  doing  I  incurred  the  expense 
upon  my  own  account. 

*  One  hundred  and  fourteen,  according  to  Sir  Francis  Head. 


236 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


Although  I  had  been  led  to  expect  something  better  than  usual 
from  the  San  Luis  Eonda,  I  was  agreeably  surprised  at  the  supe- 
rior cleanliness  and  comfort  to  anything  which  I  had  seen  on  this 
side  of  the  mountains,  a  difference  perhaps  attributable  to  the 
fact  that  the  owner,  who  was  now  absent,  was  a  Frenchman.  The 
house  was  well-built  of  adobes  and  whitewashed,  having  a  paved 
court-yard  within,  on  which  the  rooms  of  the  guests  were  situ- 
ated.   As  is  almost  invariably  the  custom,  a  pulperia^  or  grog- 
shop, formed  a  part  of  the  establishment,  and  faced  upon  the 
street,  which,  in  addition  to  a  rickety  billiard- table,  kept  the 
public  rooms  filled  with  idlers  until  a  late  hour  of  the  night. 
Having  been  shown  to  my  room,  and  given  an  affirmative  answer 
to  the  inquiry  as  to  whether  I  would  sup,  I  called  upon  the  old 
Vizcaino^  who  superintended  the  establishment,  for  water,  and  ob- 
tained, to  my  great  satisfaction,  a  goblet  filled  with  some  as  sweet 
and  clear  as  if  drawn  from  a  mountain  stream,  and  eutirely  free 
from  saline  taste.    This  was  the  first  really  good  water  I  had 
drank  since  leaving  Villa  Vicencio  ;  and  those  on"5y  -^'ho  hivf* 
subsisted  some  ten  days  upon  water  which  always  had  a  taste 
more  or  less  brackish,  can  appreciate  how  I  revelled  in  the  lux- 
ury.   In  connection  with  the  quality  of  water,  invariably  asso- 
ciated by  the  vulgar  with  disease,  it  may  not  be  inappropriate 
to  mention  that  I  saw  no  instance  of  goitre  in  San  Luis.  After 
my  supper,  which  consisted  of  pieces  of  beef  roasted  in  that  pe- 
culiar form,  known  as  junks  by  our  maritime  fellow-citizens,  and 
the  almost  constant  casuela^  I  retired  to  my  room  to  solace  my- 
self in  Cjuiet  with  the  traveller's  staple,  a  cigar ^  but  soon  found 
myself  interrupted  by  a  half  dozen  of  visitors,  who  hearing  of  the 
arrival  of  a  stranger  travelling  post — who  always  possesses  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  consequence  in  a  small  town — came  to  pay  their 
compliments.    Among  these  were  three  foreigners,  a  German,  an 
Italian,  and  a  Spanish  Basque  ;  the  former  was  the  principal 
spokesman,  and  taking  the  initiative,  informed  me  that  he  had 
come  out  from  Europe  as  a  superintendent  of  a  glass  work  to 
have  been  established  in  Santiago^  but  which  failed  on  account  of 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 


237 


the  want  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  Chilian  government.  He 
also  stated  that  he  had  recently  visited  California,  and  little  sus- 
pecting that  I  had  just  arrived  from  that  part  of  the  world,  un- 
suspiciously answered  my  questions,  and  gave  an  elaborate  des- 
cription of  places  which  never  existed  except  in  his  fertile  imagi- 
nation. He  and  the  Basque  were  about  to  visit  Buenos  AyreSj^ 
on  the  horses  of  the  latter,  from  whence  he  had  promised  to  obtain 
funds  from  divers  commercial  houses,  and  return  the  favour  by 
transporting  the  latter  to  the  land  of  gold. 

With  the  intention  of  giving  the  Basque  an  insight  into  his  true 
character,  but  without  openly  proclaiming  hitn  an  impostor,  by 
letting  it  be  known  that  I  had  been  in  California,  I  questioned  him 
so  closely  that  he  avoided  me  ever  after  during  my  stay  in  San 
Luis. 

When  I  saw  him  again,  some  weeks  had  elapsed,  and  some 
hundreds  of  miles  been  traversed  by  each  of  us,  and  he  was  fly- 
ing from  the  same  Basque,  whom  he  had  cheated  of  his  money 
and  robbed  of  his  horses. 


11^ 


V 


fjilAPTER  XT. 


SAN  LtTlS. 


March  17.— Breakfasted  about  11  a,  m.,  and  finding  the 
heat  too  great  for  a  comfortable  walk,  I  remained  in  the  fonda 
until  evening,  when  I  called  at  the  government  house  to  have  my 
passport  viseed."^^  The  troops  stationed  at  the  door  had  neither 
the  brigandish  air  of  those  of  Mendo^a,  nor  were  they  so  uncivil 
and  exacting.  I  passed  in  freely  without  a  devisa^  to  which  no 
allusion  was  made  during  my  gtay,  and  I  even  saw  a  man  with  a 
full  beard,  a  strong  evidence  of  the  liberality  of  the  authorities. 
The  ojfficials,  the  most  important  of  whom  was  the  Minister,  or 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  province,  were  courteous.  Having 
performed  this  duty,  I  took  a  walk  through  the  city  to  observe  it 
and  the  people,  who  were  generally  seated  at  their  doors  enjoying 
the  cool  air  of  the  evening.  It  is  regularly  laid  out  in  squares, 
the  houses  of  one  story,  in  some  cases  tiled  and  whitewashed,  but 
more  generally  thatched,  and  the  natural  colour  of  the  adole. 
As  in  Mendoza,  gardens  are  generally  attached  to  the  houses, 
which  being  surrounded  by  a  sombre  clay  wall,  gives  to  the  streets 
a  dry  and  arid  appearance,  not  out  of  character  with  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  place.  The  floors  of  the  houses  are  of  pounded 
clay,  or  half-burnt  tiles,  productive  alike  of  coolness  and  dirt. 
The  sidewalks  of  the  more  conspicuous  streets  are  rudely  paved, 
while  the  centre  is  deep  with  dust  or  mud,  according  to  the  hu- 


SAN  LUIS. 


239 


midity  of  the  atmospliere.  One  church,  the  barracks,  govern- 
ment offices,  and  prison,  insignificant  edifices,  are  all  the  public 
buildings  which  San  Luis  contains.  It  has  numerous  small  shops 
for  the  supply  of  its  inhabitants  and  people  of  the  adjoining  coun- 
try, which  have  an  average  capital,  as  I  was  informed,  of  about 
one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  although  their  display  would 
seldom  indicate  a  stock  of  more  than  two  hundred  dollars.  The 
number  of  inhabitants  is  about  one  thousand,  and  that  of  the 
Province  twenty-five  thousand.  The  latter  contains  some  mines 
of  copper,  and  washings  of  gold,  neither  of  which  appear  to  be 
productive,  and  although  horned  cattle  and  horses  are  as  abun- 
dant as  usual  in  these  plains,  the  principal  source  of  wealth  and 
almost  the  only  export  is  wool,  which  is  exchanged  in  Buenos 
Ayres  for  European  goods  and  specie.  What  dried  fruits  are 
to  Mendozi,  wool  is  to  San  Luis.  The  price  of  wool  is  about 
four  reals  per  arroba,  and  its  transportation  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
where  its  average  price  is  about  two  dollars,  is  about  five  reals. 
The  hire  of  a  cart  to  the  same  place  is  one  hundred  dollars,  or 
fifty  dollars  less  than  from  Mendoza.  The  merchants  or  shop- 
keepers are  not  only  the  elite^  but  almost  the  only  capitalists. 
Little  wholesale  or  retail  business  is  done  on  credit. 

The  people  of  San  Luis  are  less  religious  than  in  Mendoza, 
which  is  the  only  city  in  South  America  where  I  have  seen  the 
shops  generally  closed  on  Sunday.  There  are  no  doctors,  and  the 
health  of  the  people  is  generally  good.  Whether  the  want  of 
medical  men  is  a  cause  or  effect,  I  will  not  pretend  to  decide. 
In  the  course  of  the  evening  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  tole- 
rably intelligent  Cordovese^  the  owner  of  a  shop  and  dealer  in 
wool,  who  had  formerly  lived  in  Buenos  Aja^es,  and  was  one  of 
the  few  in  the  city  who  had  a  defiaito  idea  of  the  country  to  which 
I  belonged.  The  people  of  the  ''great  model  republic"  will  not 
perhaps  feel  much  complimented  when  told  that  in  the  interior  of 
South  America,  in  the  heart  of  those  republics  to  which  we  have 
given  birth  by  our  example,  the  body  of  the  people  are  not  aware 
of  our  existence,  and  the  nearest  approach  to  attaining  a  recog- 


240  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


nition  of  our  nationality  is  to  be  termed  Aviericanos  Ingieses^  or 
English  Americans. 

This  gentleman  passed  the  evening  with  me  and  gave  me  a 
portion  of  the  information  here  transcribed,  the  accuracy  of  which 
I  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  as  much  of  it  was  substantiated  by 
others. 

March  18. — Unable  to  set  out,  as  the  courier  was  detained 
by  the  governor  in  order  to  convey  dispatches  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  my  movements  were  of  course  governed  by  his.  I  confess  I 
was  somewhat  restive,  but  unfortunately  there  was  no  remedy, 
and  I  resigned  myself  with  as  good  a  grace  as  possible  to  the  un- 
utterable dulness  of  a  South  American  inland  town.  To-day,  I 
met  2i  peon  in  the  Pulperia^  who  informed  me  that  he  had  been 
hired  by  a  countryman  of  mJne  to  convey  him  from  Mendoza  to 
Valparaiso  the  year  before,  and  was  loud  in  his  eulogiums  upon 
his  endurance,  good  nature,  enterprise,  the  extent  of  his  scientific 
knowledge  and  his  generosity  ;  he  pronounced  him  to  be  un  joven 
muy  guajpo. 

In  the  evening  my  Cordovese  friend  called  again  and  kindly 
offered  to  introduce  me  to  some  of  the  haut  ton  of  San  Luis,  an 
offer  which  in  my  utter  want  of  occupation,  I  of  course  did  not 
decline.  The  house  vvhich  we  first  visited,  though  pertaining  to 
a  leading  fawshionable  family,  was  by  no  means  richly,  or  even 
comfortably  furnished.  The  bare  walls  of  a  large  room  scantily 
colonized  by  a  few  rickety-looking  chairs,  which  I  shrewdly  sus- 
pected of  being  countrymen,  though  I  had  too  much  tact  to 
recognise  them  in  their  misfortunes,  presented  by  no  means  a 
"  brilliant  tout  ensernhle^^^  for  a  fashionable  residence.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  furniture  already  specified,  there  was  a  small  table, 
on  which  were  placed  a  pair  of  tallow  candles,  whose  faint  and 
flickering  light  gave  a  gloomy  and  cavernous  air  to  the  whole 
apartment,  which  was  made  more  obvious  instead  of  being  re- 
lieved by  a  small  piece  of  carpet  which  covered  the  tiled  floor 
immediately  in  its  vicinity.  The  cheerless  aspect  of  the  room, 
however,  was  soon  relieved  by  the  entrance  of  the  two  ladies  of 


SAN  LUIS. 


241 


the  family,  sisters,  who  were  well-dressed,  well-bred,  showy,  and 
tolerably  good-looking.  It  was  proposed  to  visit  some  other  fam- 
ilies for  the  purpose  of  introducing  me,  and  in  setting  ojT,  I  inad- 
vertently made  a  mistake  by  usurping  the  place  of  the  husband, 
when  I  thought  I  had  the  unmarried  sister,  which  error  the  lady 
herself  corrected.  Customs  vary,  thought  I,  as  I  changed  with 
him,  and  returned  him  his  wife,  whose  society  he  appreciated  the 
more  as  he  had  just  been  released  from  six  months'  imprisonment, 
and  was  still  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  city  for  the  share  he 
had  taken  in  a  recent  revolution.  The  philosophical  and  good- 
natured  manner  in  which  he  alluded  to  it  showed  that  his  pun- 
ishment had  fallen  lightly  upon  him,  or  that  he  had  extraordinary 
command  over  his  feelings. 

At  the  first  house  we  visited,  we  found  a  gentleman  with  his 
wife  whom  he  had  recently  married  at  the  village  of  Achiras,  and 
her  sister,  the  wedding  party  having  tarried  here  on  their  way  to 
Mendoza,  where  he  resided.  It  was  not  until  I  had  been  some 
time  in  conversation  with  him,  that  I  learned  he  was  an  Ameri- 
can, and  a  native  of  New  York,  whence  he  had  strayed  off  into 
this  remote  region  with  a  recklessness  to  the  ties  of  country  to 
which  I  have  had  occasion  to  allude  before  as  too  characteristic 
of  our  countrymen.  His  career  is  not  an  uncommon  one.  He  was 
a  printer,  and  went  to  the  coast  of  Peru  in  one  of  our  sloops  of 
war,  where  he  left,  as  he  says,  with  the  permission  of  the  captain, 
and  established  a  small  printing  press.  He  prospered  for  the 
time,  but  losing  his  money,  eventually  found  his  way  to  Mendoza, 
where  for  a  time  he  was  employed  in  the  peculiarly  national  occu- 
pation of  teaching  a  school.  Having  made  himself  useful  to  the 
authorities  as  a  printer,  he  again  got  in  advance  of  the  world, 
sent  home  for  some  inferior  printing  presses  which  he  disposed  of 
advantageously  to  the  Provincial  governments,  and  was  now  suf- 
ficiently wealthy  to  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  wife. 

Leaving  my  countryman  and  his  newly  acquired  family,  for  it 
appears  that  maiden  sisters  are  appendages  also  on  the  plains,  we 
visited  another  house  where  we  found  two  young  ladies  who  grati- 


242 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


fied  us  with  some  music,  accompanying  themselves  on  the  guitar 
The  songs  were  all  national,  and  so  peculiarly  plaintive  that  I 
could  almost  imagine  it  a  dirge  over  their  unfortunate  and  dis- 
tracted country.  There  are  no  pianos  here,  and  no  Italian 
music  ;  refinement  in  that  respect  as  well  as  some  others  has 
marched  through  San  Luis,  on  its  way  to  Mendoza,  without  halt- 
ing. The  standard  cause  of  complaint  among  the  ladies  here  as 
elsewhere  in  the  Argentine  Provinces,  is  want  of  beaux  ;  war,  and 
its  attendant  proscription,  and  emigration,  having  thinned  off 
the  young  men.  On  this  subject  I  obtained  from  my  lady  friends 
statistics  upon  which  the  reader  may  confidently  rely.  In  the 
city  of  San  Luis,  containing  one  thousand  inhabitants,  there  are 
only  ten  eligible  young  men  !  And  ladies  oh  Dios  ay  miichas 
which  would  certainly  make  it  a  somewhat  desirable  place  to  hang 
up  one's  hat,  as  political  economy  teaches  that  commodities  are 
valued  less  in  proportion  to  their  intrinsic  vtxlue  than  their  scar- 
city. At  a  late  hour  we  returned  whence  we  had  started  with 
our  lady  friends,  and  after  hearing  from  them  a  song  or  two,  I 
retired  to  mj  fonda  with  the  pleasing  consciousness  of  being  able 
to  number  among  my  acquaintances  some  of  the  haut  ton  of  San 
Luis. 

March  19. — Courier  still  delayed,  which  I  resented  by  abusing 
the  Provincial  Government  of  San  Luis  most  heartily,  without 
heeding  the  warning  shrugs  of  my  acquaintances.  Another 
stupid  day  in  this  stupid  village.  It  was  really  too  provoking, 
and  though  quite  as  patient  a  man  as  the  patriarch  Job,  (see  the 
account  given  by  his  biographer,)  I  was  annoyed  exceedingly 
with  this  additional  delay  and  fear.  I  expressed  my  impatience 
in  a  manner  which  was  neither  complimentary  to  San  Luis,  its 
governor,  or  its  inhabitants.  There  was  no  remedy,  however, 
but  to  murder  the  day  by  eating,  drinking,  smoking,  and  the 
eternal  siesta^  which  lasts  longer  in  this  city  than  in  others  which 
I  have  visited  during  my  journeys.  Captain  Marryatt  defining 
the  word  siesta  in  one  of  his  novels,  speaks  of  it  as  a  short  nap 
after  dinner,  and  makes  the  difference  between  a  sieda  and  a 


SAN  LTIIS. 


243 


snooze  to  consist  in  the  first  being  a  nap  enjoyed  by  the  rich  or 
refined,  and  the  latter  that  of  a  poor  man.  As  a  siesta  is  taken 
in  San  Luis,  the  word  snooze  or  nap  will  by  no  means  give  a  fair 
and  correct  idea  of  the  luxury,  for  instead  of  throwing  oneself 
carelessly  down  to  catch  a  few  moments'  refreshing  repose,  beds 
are  brought  out  into  the  most  airy  situations,  clothes  are  taken 
ofi*,  houses  and  stores  are  closed,  and  for  some  three  hours  the 
whole  city  is  like  one  of  the  dead.  Even  dogs,  cats,  horned 
cattle,  and  horses,  seem  to  take  the  infection,  and  doze  away 
quietly  the  warmer  hours  of  the  day.  In  San  Luis,  during  siesta, 
the  only  sign  of  animal  activity  is  displayed  by  those  incorrigible 
domestic  tormentors,  the  house-flies,  and  I  prayed  at  times  most 
heartily  that  the  rod  of  Somnus  might  bewitch  them  also  into 
the  universal  lethargy.  After  the  world  in  San  Luis  had  awak- 
ened from  their  siesta  of  this  after ;]Oon,  my  friend  Mendoza  the 
Cordovese  came  to  invite  me  to  a  tertulia  to  be  given  by  the 
relatives  of  the  ladies  with  whom  we  had  passed  the  previous 
evening ;  an  invitation  not  to  be  refused,  as  my  acceptance  would 
serve  not  only  to  while  away  the  tedious  hours  of  my  stay,  but 
would  also  give  me  a  still  better  insight  into  the  state  of  society 
in  this  primitive  little  city. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  the  house,  which  was  a  short  distance  out 
of  town,  we  found  the  party,  which  consisted  of  some  twenty-four 
or  thirty  women,  and  about  half  as  many  men,  assembled,  and 
received,  not  only  from  the  host  and  hostess,  but  from  the  guests 
generally,  a  cordial  welcome.  The  young  men  present  belonged 
either  to  the  army  or  national  guard,  and  were  all  dressed  in  red 
jackets  and  white  trowsers,  which  gave  a  lively  air  to  the  assem- 
blage. Contrary  to  what  would  be  the  custom  in  our  own  coun- 
try, this  gayety  of  apparel  was  confined  exclusively  to  the  sterner 
sex.  as  a  more  plainly  and  indeed  worse-dressed  set  of  women  I 
have  never  met  elsewhere.  The  mantua-makers,  like  the  musi- 
cians, on  their  way  to  Mendoza  had  evidently  made  no  tarry  in 
San  Luis.  Though  not  accustomed  generally  to  observe  very 
closely  the  raiment  of  the  fair  sex,  and  still  less — heaven  fore- 


2U  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


fend — to  criticise,  there  was  something  irresistibly  comic  in  the 
short  waists  and  consequently  long  skirts,  the  round  shoulders 
and  flat  chests,  in  producing  which  there  was  evidently  some  me- 
chanical agency.  Their  whole  appearance  suggested  the  idea  of 
a  stag  dance,  and  the  impression  that  the  ladies  were  so  many 
troopers  in  disguise ;  and  more  than  once  I  found  myself  instinc- 
tively trying  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  their  feet,  expecting,  perchance, 
to  see  a  boot  and  spur  beneath  their  long  skirts.  Wherever  it  has 
been  my  fortune  to  wander,  I  have  never  found  women  less  grace- 
fully dressed,  except,  perhaps,  among  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  who 
have  abandoned  their  native  costume  and  adopted  the  European. 
Among  the  whole  company  assembled,  there  were  no  beauties, 
and  very  few  who  could  be  even  called  good-looking.  Some  few 
pairs  of  fine  eyes  ;  but  that  was  all,  and  my  kind  chaperons  of  the 
previous  evening,  though  they  did  not  by  any  means  look  so  well 
in  the  bright  glare  of  the  tallow  candies  as  they  had  done  in  the 
dim  twilight  in  which  I  had  before  viewed  them,  were  by  odds 
the  prettiest  women  in  the  house.  As  a  stranger  I  was  kindly 
received  and  the  lion  of  the  evening,  the  men  individually  and 
collectively  insisting  upon  pledging  me  in  cana^  while  some  of  the 
damsels — the  proposition  having  originated  with  the  other  sex — 
offered  to  indoctrinate  me  into  the  mysteries  of  a  minuet  and  the 
mazes  of  the  waltz.  The  music  was  a  guitar,  frequently  accom- 
panied by  the  voice,  while  the  dances  consisted  of  jninuets,  in 
capital  keeping,  by  the  way,  with  the  short  waists  and  long  skirts, 
contra  dances,  waltzes,  and  occasionally  the  national  Sama  Ciieca 
and  the  Gato  (cat.)  In  dancing  the  latter,  castanets  were  fre- 
quently imitated  by  the  fingers,  and  added  not  a  little  to  the  ex- 
hilaration of  the  amusement.  Between  each  dance  the  men  gen- 
erally indulged  themselves  in  a  little  cana^  which  was  invariably 
sliared  with  the  uninvited  guests  collected  around  the  door,  and 
enjoying  an  outside  view  of  the  festivity. 

As  it  began  to  wax  late,  I  thought  the  effects  of  the  cana  be- 
came somewhat  obvious,  not  to  intoxication,  but  to  exhilaration  ; 
and  before  breaking  up,  some  one  proposed  the  dance  of  the 


SAN  LUIS, 


245 


viejas,  (the  old  women,)  and  with  a  shout  each  man  jumped  for- 
ward, and  selected  as  a  partner  the  oldest  woman  he  could  find, 
the  older  in  such  case  the  better.  For  some  minutes  it  was  one 
of  the  most  diverting  scenes  I  have  witnessed,  and  though  some 
resisted  stoutly,  especially  those  who  were  very  fat,  the  music  was 
loudly  called  for  amid  shouts  of  laughter,  and  after  another  at- 
tempt to  escape,  in  which,  however,  none  were  successful,  up 
struck  the  guitar,  accompanied  by  the  voices  of  nearly  all  the 
young  men  in  the  room,  off  went  the  persecuted  old  ladies,  who 
laughing  at  each  other's  antics,  soon  forgot  the  compulsion,  and 
capered  away  with  as  hearty  a  good  will  as  if  it  were  not  an 
amusement  which  they  had  abandoned  some  thirty  or  forty  years 
before. 

This  dance,  and  accompanying  jests,  finished  the  evening's 
amusements,  and  we  set  out  for  home,  the  ladies  being  escorted 
by  the  gentlemen  in  a  mass  to  their  domiciles,  and  preceded  by 
female  servants  with  lanterns.  On  our  way  I  was  entertained  by 
a  long  dissertation  from  the  ladies  upon  the  general  want  of  gay- 
ety  in  San  Luis,  which  was  attributed,  by  them,  to  the  character 
of  the  governor,  who  held  all  kinds  of  festivity  in  utter  aversion. 
The  men  prudently  said  little,  although  they  doubtless  accorded 
in  the  views  of  the  other  sex,  thus  showing  that  in  this  country, 
as  in  many  others,  there  is  a  greater  license  for  the  female  tongue 
than  the  male. 

March  20. — Still  delayed  by  the  Governor.  Breakfasted,  dined, 
and  took  a  siesta^  the  only  occurrence  worthy  of  note  being  that 
of  having  breakfasted  on  some  fresh  fish  which  were  brought 
during  the  night  from  the  Bevedero,  a  lake  some  twenty-five 
leagues  south  of  San  Luis.  At  dusk,  the  arrival  of  a  traveller 
with  a  peon  and  baggage  mule,  broke  into  the  ordinary  routine  of 
the  fovda.  The  influence  of  provincialism  is  very  great,  as  even 
I  felt  some  curiosity  to  know  who  he  might  be,  and  for  the  attain- 
ment of  information  upon  the  subject,  I  sent  for  the  Major  Donio, 
who  was  quite  as  ignorant  as  myself.  He  could  not  be  any  great 
things,  however,  was  the  sage  remark  of  this  personage,  as  he 


246 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


had  little  luggage,  and  came  on  mules  little  larger  than  rats. 
Among  all  the  arbitrary  distinctions  which  society  makes  amongst 
men,  I  had  never  before  known  a  man's  consequence  to  be 
measured  by  the  size  of  his  mule,  although,  I  doubt  not,  it  is 
quite  as  rational  as  many  others  more  in  vogue. 

March  — With  no  small  satisfaction,  I  learned  we.  would 
certainly  leave  on  to-morrow  morning,  as  independent  of  being 
perfectly  bored  by  my  protracted  residence  in  a  small  town,  I 
was  somewhat  fearful  that  I  might  arrive  in  Rio  too  late  to  meet 
the  "  Lexington."  After  breakfast,  the  Major  Domo  informed  me 
that  my  fellow  traveller  was  a  Pole,  and  a  fire-king^  who  had 
come  to  San  Luis  for  the  purpose  of  giving  its  inhabitants  an 
exhibition  of  his  powers  in  that  line,  as,  also,  in  feats  of  strength. 
Learning  that  he  spoke  English,  and  being  a  fire-king^  moreover, 
myself^  I  determined  to  call  upon  him  and  learn  how  he  had  wan- 
dered into  this  remote  region,  and  what  was  the  course  of  travel 
he  had  marked  out  for  the  future.  I  found  him  a  man  very  like 
those  of  his  adventurous  class,  all  the  world  over,  and  really  felt 
my  heart  warm  toward  him,  when  I  learned  that  he  had  not 
only  passed  several  years  in  the  United  States,  but  had  even  in 
the  course  of  his  wanderings  passed  some  days  in  my  own  little 
town,  Springfield,  Ohio."^ 

Community  of  language  in  a  strange  country  soon  makes  men 
singularly  confidential  ;  and  before  we  had  been  acquainted  an 
hour,  he  informed  me  that  his  finances  were  at  dead  low  water 
mark  ;  in  fact,  that  he  had  not  one  real  in  the  world,  and  that  he 
owed,  beside,  an  ounce  to  the  jpeon^  who  had  brought  him  and  his 
scanty  baggage  from  San  Juan.  I  gave  him  sufficient  money  to 
relieve  his  immediate  and  pressing  necessities,  when  he  left  me  to 
ask  permission  from  the  Governor  to  perform  in  the  city.  In 
the  evening,  about  dusk,  I  again  met  him,  and,  although,  he  had 
obtained  the  necessary  permission,  he  was  by  no  means  sanguine 
of  success;  and  having  entered  into  some  abstruse  mathematical 

^  On  shores  unknown,  in  distant  worlds,  how  sw^eet 
The  kindred  tongue,  the  kindred  face  to  meet. — Lusiad,  Book  7. 


SAN  LUIS. 


847 


calculations  upon  the  subject,  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
the  population  of  San  Luis  was  insufficient  to  pay  the  necessary 
expenses  of  the  entertainment,  and  liquidate  the  expenses 
already  incurred.  The  truth  of  his  premises  I  could  not  deny, 
and  having  received  his  solemn  assurance  that  he  could  ride  well, 
was  hardy,  and  accustomed  to  fatigue,  offered  to  pay  his  liabili- 
ties, and  take  him  with  me  to  Buenos  Ayres,  vAere  he  assured 
me  that  a  single  performance  would  enable  him  to  return  the 
money,  or,  indeed,  that  he  could  obtain  an  advance  from  the 
manager  of  the  theatre.  As.  it  was  now  dark,  and  our  time  lim- 
ited, I  stopped  his  protestations  of  gratitude,  and  making  him 
accompany  me,  called  in  person  upon  the  Governor,  an  ignorant, 
good-natured  old  man,  and  asked  him  as  a  favour,  that  a  pass- 
port should  be  expedited,  which  he,  after  some  abortive  attempts 
at  a  joke  upon  the  profession  of  mj  protege,  ordered  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  to  make  out.  For  this,  coming  as  it  did  directly 
from  head-quarters,  no  charge  was  made,  but,  unfortunately, 
while  it  was  being  written,  the  Administrador  of  the  Correo 
(postal  establishment)  came  in  and  claimed  his  bonus  of  a  quarter 
of  an  ounce  for  the  privilege  of  travelling  post.  As  I  had  not 
been  obliged  to  pay  this  sum,  I  made  some  objections,  and  even 
attempted  to  awaken  the  dormant  generosity  of  the  official,  by  in- 
forming him  of  the  fire  king's  want  of  finances,  in  which  I  was  sig- 
nally unsuccessful,  as  he  understood  perfectly,  that  if  he  had  no 
money  I  would  be  obliged  to  pay ;  and  looking  upon  me  as  a  fool 
quite  willing  to  part  with  my  money,  had  no  intention  of  losing 
his  share.  I  next  visited  my  friend  and  companion,  Don  Anto- 
nio, informing  him  that  I  had  taken  a  new  travelling  companion, 
whose  food  and  horse  hire  I  would  pay  for,  while  I  trusted  to  his 
liberality  toward  a  destitute  man  in  a  strange  country,  to  make 
no  charge  for  the  privilege  of  accompanying  him  on  the  journey. 
He  conceded  with  a  very  bad  grace  ;  and  with  divers  ominous 
shrugs  and  shakes  of  the  head,  declared  that  I  was  only  too  kind- 
hearted,  and  would  be  certain  to  be  imposed  upon.  As,  however, 
I  was  a  good  customer,  had  paid  liberally  down  on  the  nail,  was 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


a  tolerably  good  companion  on  the  road,  and  owned  two  very 
fine  blankets  of  which  he  held  a  sort  of  prospective  possession, 
he  could  not  well  refuse,  but  gave  his  consent  under  a  formal 
protest^  which  he  put  on  the  ground  of  regard  for  my  interests, 
and  not  his  own,  though,  I  presume,  the  latter  were  those 
which  were  most  closely  considered.  Every  thing  now  being 
arranged  for  an  early  departure,  I  returned  to  the  foncla^  and 
after  paying  the  jpeon  who  had  brought  my  jprotege  to  this  place, 
called  for  my  own  bill  with  a  gusto  v^hich  shewed  how  much 
rejoiced  1  was  to  move  my  head-quarters  from  his  respectable  but 
quiet  city.  The  keeper  of  the  fonda^  however,  appeared  deter- 
mined, also,  to  share  in  the  plunder  of  the  Gringo and  upon 
giving  in  his  bill  made  divers  charges  for  imaginary  articles,  for 
which  I  briefly  told  him  that  I  would  not  pay  one  single  quar- 
tillo.  He  also  charged  me  for  board  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  a 
day,  while  the  regular  price  was  seventy-five  cents,  a  fact  to 
which  the  Pole  called  my  attention,  and  upon  enquiry  as  to  the 
reason  of  this  difference  between  the  latter  and  myself,  there  not 
having  been  the  slightest  difference  in  our  fare  or  rooms,  he 
informed  me  that  his  charges  were  conforme — conformable — to 
the  rank  and  position  of  the  individual,  and  that  he  could  not 
think  of  charging  a  gentleman  who  travelled  post,  only  the  same 
price  that  he  exacted  from  a  wandering  mountebank  who  rode  on 
little  rats  of  mules,  and  they  hired  at  that.  Not  feeling  in  the 
most  amiable  mood,  I  refused  to  recognize  the  force  of  this  logic, 
although  tolerably  well  accustomed  to  its  practice  in  my  inter- 
course with  tailors  and  others  in  my  own  country.  I  was  resolute 
in  '*  cutting  the  account,"  as  the  Chinese  call  it,  and  generously 
paid  him  the  difference  in  advice,  with  which,  to  tell  the  truth,  I 
interlarded  an  occasional  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  imprecation,  by 
way  of  relieving  my  mind. 

The  annoyances  and  responsibilities  of  the  day  having  termi- 
nated, I  retired  to  my  bed,  advising  the  Pole  to  follow  my  exam- 
ple, which,  however,  he  did  not  see  fit  to  do  so,  as  I  learned  in 
the  morning  that  he  had  spent  the  night  in  the  profitable  employ- 


SAN  LUIS. 


249 


ment  of  gambling  with  tbe  "peon^  which  convinced  me  that  he 
had  either  deceived  me,  at  first,  as  to  the  amount  of  his  funds, 
or  that  in  collusion  with  the  peon^  he  had  deceived  me  as  to  the 
amount  due  to  the  latter.  The  prospects  were  certainly  not  aus- 
picious, but  my  only  chance  to  have  my  money  returned  was  to 
continue  my  protection,  and,  if  possible,  get  him  to  Buenos 
Ayres. 


CHAPTER  XVL 


A    GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 

March  22. — Soon  after  daylight,  I  was  called  by  the  courier, 
who  had  brought  up  the  horses,  and  soon  after  the  Fire-King  en- 
tered with  an  expression  of  countenance  which  indicated  a  sleep- 
less night,  with  an  accompaniment  of  some  potent  excitement, 
either  that  of  gambling  or  cana,  and  probably  both.  I  was  now 
in  for  it,  however,  and  concealing  my  annoyance,  quietly  mounted 
my  horse,  affecting  not  to  observe  the  knowing  winks  of  Don  An- 
tonio, who  rejoicing  in  his  superior  sagacity,  was  now  enjoying  a 
triumph  over  his  extensively  travelled  and  better  educated,  but 
credulous  comjpanero.  It  is  thus,  too  frequently,  that  credulous 
liberality  is  made  the  butt  of  a  pretended  sagacity  which  has  its 
origin  in  an  intrinsic  want  of  noble  sentiments  ;  yet  a  person  im- 
posed upon,  his  philosophy  and  better  convictions  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding,  feels  almost  as  much  mortification  at  the  ridicule 
which  may  result  from  his  amiable  credulity,  as  if  he  were  ac- 
cused of  a  dishonorable  action. 

Such  was  the  tenor  of  my  thoughts,  and  such  my  feelings  as  I 
avoided  the  furtive  and  sly  glances  of  Antonio  and  the  postilion 
while  riding  through  the  yet  deserted  streets  of  San  Luis.  For 
a  mile  or  two,  the  ground  was  somewhat  broken  and  covered  with 
brushes,  but  after  crossing  a  stream  of  clear  water,  which  had  its 
origin  in  the  mountains,  now  close  to  us  on  our  left,  we  emerged 
into  the  open  plains,  where  1  again  heard  the  cheering  cry,/'  Fuego 
al  Campo,"  and  in  the  excitement  attendant  on  being  once  more 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 


251 


on  my  way,  at  a  rapid  gallop,  soon  forgot  my  vexation,  and  could 
almost  forgive  Antonio  and  the  mountebank  all  the  annoyances 
which  they  had  caused  me.  Our  pace  was  sufficiently  rapid,  and 
I  saw  plainly  that  the  horsemanship  of  the  latter  was  under  test, 
a  circumstance  which  I  regretted  the  less  as  I  felt  that  if  unable 
to  proceed,  the  sooner  I  became  aware  of  it  the  better.  A  few 
leagues  only  brought  him  some  miles  behind,  and  at  about  half- 
way to  the  next  stage,  we  were  obliged  to  stop  and  await  his  com- 
ing up,  which  he  did  eventually,  tolerably  well  blown,  and  in  no 
very  agreeable  humour.  We  did  not  give  him  much  time  to 
rest,  but  warning  him  that  he  must  keep  up,  set  off  again,  the 
rest  of  us  arriving  at  the  end  of  our  stage  about  11  o'clock,  he 
being  out  of  sight  astern.  Determining  to  give  him  a  chance  to 
recuperate,  we  ordered  breakfast,  and  awaited  his  arrival,  which, 
at  length,  took  place,  when  we  found  him  nearly  dead  beat,  and 
in  a  most  captious  mood  at  the  results  of  his  attempts  to  ride 
post.  Like  all  persons  similarly  circumstanced,  he  wished  to  put 
the  blame  upon  any  one  but  himself,  and  was  loud  in  his  invec- 
tives against  the  horse,  the  postilion,  and  Don  Antonio,  whom  he 
had  observed  looked  upon  him  with  no  partial  eye.  He  declared 
at  once  his  inability  to  proceed,  and  threw  himself  doggedly  on 
the  floor  of  the  hut,  and  in  reply  to  my  question  whether  he  had 
not  assured  me  that  he  could  ride,  answered  pettishly  that  so  he 
could  ;  but  what  roan  in  his  sober  senses  ever  heard  of  travelling 
fifteen  leagues  at  a  gallop  ?  For  his  comfort  I  hinted  that  dis- 
pensing with  his  excesses  of  last  night,  he  would  have  been  fresher 
this  morning,  and  that  we  would  give  him  some  three  or  four 
hour's  rest,  as  we  had  only  one  more  stage  of  nine  leagues  to  make 
before  sleeping,  but  that  if  he  were  not  ready  to  depart  at  that 
time,  I  would  leave  him  where  he  then  was  and  give  myself  no 
farther  concern  about  him.  The  latter  hint  was  not  without  its 
effect,  and  after  about  four  hour's  rest,  during  which  Don  A.  and 
myself  had  our  usual  siestas,  and  our  breakfast  of  casuela^  which 
he  refused  to  partake,  he  announced  himself,  though  certainly 
not  in  the  most  cheerful  manner,  as  ready  for  the  next  stage. 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


The  post  at  wliich  we  stopped  was  that  of  Rio  Quinto,  so  called 
from  a  clear  and  pleasant  stream  of  good  watei  which  flowed  near 
it,  after  passing  which,  and  filling  our  chifres  in  anticipation  of 
some  nine  leagues  without  that  necessary  beverage,  we  ascended 
a  swell  in  the  Pampa,  from  which  looking  over  a  flat,  and  appa- 
rently perfectly  level  plain,  we  obtained  a  view  of  the  mountain 
of  San  Jose  de  Moro,  which  was  to  be  the  terminus  of  our  day's 
journey.    We  were  now  in  a  portion  of  country  subject  to  the 
^'  raids"  or  forays  of  the  mounted  Indians,  where  it  was  neces- 
sary to  keep  a  bright  look  out  during  the  day,  and  by  no  means 
safe  to  sleep,  except  in  the  mud  forts  which  protect  the  greater 
number  of  the  post  houses.    In  the  morning  the  courier  had  ad- 
vised me  of  the^  probable  danger,  as  the  savages  were  known  to 
be  in  the  vicinity  of  the  settlements,  having  made  a  descent  in 
this  immediate  neighbourhood  some  two  weeks  before,  and  asked 
me  to  notify  him  of  every  living  object  which  I  might,  with  my 
superior  powers  of  vision,  discover  on  the  horizon.    He  also  en- 
lightened me  as  we  galloped  along,  upon  some  of  his  hair-breadth 
escapes,  which  might  perhaps  have  produced  some  anxiety,  had 
the  narration  taken  place  at  night ;  but  who  could  feel  fear  in  the 
broad  light  of  heaven,  with  a  good  horse,  a  pair  of  good  pistols, 
and  a  visible  horizon  of  several  miles  ?    When  Indians  are  dis- 
covered in  the  plains,  the  probabilities  of  escape  depends  upon 
the  fleetness  of  the  horses,  as  the  traveller  attempts  to  reach  the 
nearest  town  or  post  house,  where  if  the  latter  be  walled,  as  is 
generally  the  case,  he  is  comparatively  safe.    Suppose  we  are 
surprised  or  overtaken,  was  my  very  natural  enquiry  of  Don  An- 
tonio.   We  will  be  killed  if  we  resist.    And  if  we  do  not,  how 
then }    We  will  also  be  killed  ;  as  these  Indians  seldom  save  any 
except  women,  who  are  carried  ofi"  as  prisoners.    To  my  surprise 
I  learned  that  resistance  was  rare,  and  that  when  escape  was  im- 
possible, it  was  the  custom  to  say  their  prayers,  if  time  were 
allowed,  and  be  butchered  peaceably.    Now  this  is  all  very  well 
for  the  Spanish  and  their  descendants,  as  they  stand  hanging, 
shooting,  garrotiug,  and  having  their  throats  cut,  with  a  resigna- 


253 


tion  and  calmness  exceeding  that  of  all  other  nations,  civilized  or 
savage,  but  it  did  not,  I  confess,  so  fully  accord  with  my  Anglo - 
Saxon  temperament  and  views.  The  time  for  prayers  I  was  will- 
ing to  merge,  and  informed  Don  Antonio  that  though  willing  to 
save  my  life  by  abandoning  my  property,  I  had  no  idea  of  losing 
both  without  resistance,  and  supported  my  intentions  so  eloquently 
that  he  agreed  to  my  proposition,  and  it  was  solemnly  compacted 
between  us,  the  compact  being  ratified  by  shaking  hands  at  full 
gallop,  that  we  should  sell  our  lives  as  dearly  as  possible,  and  act 
in  concert  for  the  attainment  of  this  end.  As  the  postilion  only 
accompanied  us  from  post  to  post  it  would  have  been  useless  to 
have  included  him  in  our  arrangement,  and  to  my  proposition 
that  we  should  extend  it  to  the  Pole,  Don  Antonio  expressed  so 
little  confidence  in  his  courage  or  conduct,  that  I  too  abandoned 
the  idea.  That  in  case  of  necessity  the  old  man  would  have  ful- 
filled his  part  of  the  compact,  I  have  no  doubt ;  and  if  before  our 
conversation  he  would  have  allowed  himself  to  be  quietly  butch- 
ered, it  v/ould  not  have  been  for  want  of  physical  courage,  but 
because  it  was  the  cosfumhre  del  pais^^^  custom  of  the  country. 
It  was  about  an  hour  after  dark  when  we  arrived  at  the  little  vil- 
lage or  fort,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  San  Jose  de  Moro, 
whose  name  it  bears,  and  as  there  was  a  mud  fort  and  garrison  of 
some  two  hundred  soldiers  to  keep  the  Indians  in  check,  we  felt 
perfectly  secure  ;  and  after  satisfying  our  hunger  on  some  beef 
hastily  roasted  on  the  embers,  we  made  our  beds  in  the  open  air 
in  front  of  the  post  house,  and  were  soon  oblivious  to  all  danger 
from  Indians,  and  all  the  inconveniences  of  the  road. 

The  Pole,  though  complaining,  had  borne  the  afternoon  ride 
better  than  I  had  anticipated,  and  having  now  brought  him  some 
seventy-two  miles  under  unfavourable  circumstances,  I  anticipated 
no  difficulty  in  conveying  him  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

March  23.— At  an  early  hour  the  indefatigable  Don  Antonio 
roused  me  from  my  pleasant  slumbers  to  enjoy  mj  matte  ;  but 
delayed,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  unnecessarily,  the  hour  of  starting. 
In  answer  to  my  queries  on  this  subject,  he  acknowledged  himself 
12 


254  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


averse  to  leaving  the  post  until  the  night  patrol  of  cavalry  had 
returned  to  report  the  Painjpas  clear  of  Indians,  who  in  South  as 
well  as  North  America,  faithful  to  their  tactics  or  instinct,  gene- 
rally make  their  attacks  about  daylight,  when  civilized  and  en- 
lightened men  in  all  countries  are  generally  enjoying  their  sound- 
est repose.    Anxious  to  proceed  when  once  aroused,  I  prevailed 
upon  him  to  saddle  up,  and  at  early  daylight,  mounted  on  spirited 
and  fresh  horses,  we  gallopped  out  of  the  village  of  San  Jose  de 
Moro  before  the  cornets  of  the  garrison  had  sounded  the  reveille. 
The  next  stage  being  but  seven  leagues,  we  did  not  spare  our 
horses  ;  and  at  an  hour  still  early,  as  compared  with  my  habits 
as  I  transcribe  this  narrative,  arrived  at  the  post  of  Portozuelo, 
so  called  from  the  fact  that  at  this  point  the  road  tends  through 
a  very  narrow  valley,  bounded  on  each  side  by  hills  of  moderate 
height,  through  which  the  rock  cropped  out  over  the  thin  stratum 
of  soil  which  partially  covered  it.    On  our  way  we  met  several 
lancers,  who  were  slowly  returning  from  the  post  which  they  had 
occupied  as  videttes  during  the  night,  to  watch  against  a  sudden 
attack  from  the  Indians,  whose  recent  visit  had  caused  an  unusual 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  garrison. 

While  changmg  horses  we  conversed  with  several  guachos  and 
their  wives  and  daughters,  who  for  some  reason  had  thus  early 
collected  at  this  post,  and  the  conduct  of  the  former  having  been 
so  friendly  in  assisting  to  select  and  saddle  my  horse,  I  would 
have  returned  their  hospitality  by  entreating  them  kindly" 
through  the  medium  cf  my  chifre  of  Aguardiente^  had  not  the 
prudent  Antonio  with  that  knowing  wink  common  to  all  lan- 
guages, reminded  me  that  we  were  already  on  the  confines  of  the 
province  of  Cordova,  which  in  exercise  of  its  authority,  as  a  sover- 
eign and  independent  state,  (the  only  instance  of  its  exercise 
which  ever  came  under  my  notice)  had  prohibited  the  sale  of 
spirits  within  its  borders. 

So  mounting  my  horse  with  a  Vayanse  con  Dios^  senores^  my 
blessing,  I  departed  with  the  full  locomotive  energies  of  a  fresh 
horse,  though  I  doubt  me  greatly  whether  with  such  cordial  good 

^  God  be  with  you,  gentlemen. 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS. 


255 


wisbes  from  the  party,  as  if  I  had  carried  my  first  intention  into 
efi"ect,  and  given  them  a  spiritual,  instead  of  a  verbal  blessing. 

A  short  distance  of  stony  road,  an  antique  rancko,  which  had 
been  deserted  on  account  of  danger  from  Indians,  and  a  small 
rivulet  of  good  fresh  water,  alone  marked  the  transition  from  tho 
independent  Federated  Province  of  San  Luis  to  that  of  Cordova. 
The  village  of  Achiras  was  distant  from  Portozuelo  about  five 
leagues,  and  the  heat  was  already  great  before  we  reached  its 
neighbourhood,  where  we  exchanged  our  horses  in  a  fine  garden 
filled  with  fruit  trees,  and  cooled  by  a  small  stream  which  irri- 
gated it. 

The  family  to  whom  this  charming  shady  retreat  and  the  ad- 
joining ruined  hut  belonged,  were  present  in  the  garden  to  collect 
the  fruit,  though  fear  of  the  Indians  prevented  their  remaining 
there  during  the  night.  Having  refreshed  ourselves  with  a  break- 
fast of  milk,  fruit,  and  cheese,  and  saddled  up  our  new  horses, 
we  set  out,  and  in  a  few  minutes  arrived  at  the  village  of  Achiras, 
a  curious  place  after  its  kind,  and  meriting  at  least  a  cursory  de- 
scription. It  consisted  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  habitations  built  of 
clay,  not  ^whitewashed,  and  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  the  same 
material,  about  twelve  feet  high.  The  streets  were  at  right 
angles,  and  being  unusually  free  from  the  incursions  of  the  un- 
clean beast  and  the  dog,  v^ere  comparatively  clean  and  well  kept. 
The  wall  which  surrounded  this  snug  and  isolated  village  was 
builfc,  as  nearly  as  I  could  estimate,  on  a  square  ;  and  as  the 
houses  rose  a  little  above.it,  performed  an  important  part  in  giv- 
ing character  to  the  village.  A  huge  wooden  gate  fronting  the 
road  would  have  been  bolted  had  it  been  evenino;,  when  the  inha- 
bitants  of  Achiras,  feeling  within  their  adobe  walls  a  security 
against  the  predatory  savage,  who  frequently  ranges  their  plains, 
can  peacefully  smoke  their  cigaritos,  drink  their  matfey  and  enjoy 
each  other's  society. 

It  was  in  this  small  village  that  my  friend,  the  American  printer, 
whom  I  encountered  in  San  Luis,  had  married.  I  availed  myself 
of  the  acquaintance  to  visit  the  house,  and  found,  that  though  the 


256 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


bride  and  her  sister  were  not  particularly  beautlfal,  everything 
pleasing  or  desirable  had  been  removod  from  the  domicile.  As  I 
sat  for  a  minute  on  an  earthern  seat,  which  the  ingenuity  of  the 
architect  had  constructed  in  a  corner,  and  peered  curiously 
through  the  darkness  at  the  bareness  of  the  mud  walls  without 
ornament,  the  mud  floors  without  covering,  the  I'ooms  generally 
more  innocent  of  furniture  than  dirt,  my  thoughts  recurred  to  the 
boasts  made  by  my  friend  of  his  ancient  Knickerbocker  origin, 
and  wondered  what  would  be  the  impressions  of  his  thrifty  and 
tidy  mamma,  Der  Goote  Fraio^  could  she  see  the  hovel  from 
which  he  had  chosen  his  wife.  However,  similia  similibus  cu- 
rantur^  and  he  will  doubtless  be  cured  of  all  disagreeable  remem- 
brances by  keeping  a  house  of  his  own  in  the  same  neglige  and 
untidy  manner;  for,  as  I  have  before  had  occasion  to  remark,  our 
countrymen  abroad  rapidly  assimilate  themselves  to  the  customs 
of  the  country  which  they  inhabit. 

A  ten  minutes'  stay  sufficed  me  ;  and  I  again  mounted  and 
pursued  my  journey,  though  ill  at  ease  from  the  combined  effects 
of  the  milk,  jolting  on  horseback,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun.  I 
shrewdly  suspected  that  the  unusual  weight  upon  my  stomach, 
and  heaviness  of  head,  was  produced  by  the  milk  under  this 
churning  process,  having  always  been  told  as  a  boy  that  butter 
was  ' unhealthy ,  Changing  horses  at  Barranquita  ojo  de  Aqua, 
and  Arroyita  de  Lagunitas,  we  arrived  about  9  p.m.  in  the  city 
of  Eio  Quarto,  having  travelled  some  ninety-six  miles  since  our 
departure  from  Mono.  Upon  reaching  the  post-house,  we  were 
obliged  to  assist  the  Pole  to  dismount,  he  having  almost  entirely 
lost  the  use  of  his  limbs  from  riding.  x\s  the  evening  approached 
his  denunciations  and  groans  became  louder  and  deeper,  until  his 
only  ambition  was  to  reach  the  end  of  the  stage,  after  which  he 
invoked  the  devil  to  fly  away  with  him  if  he  ever  undertook  to 
ride  post  again  with  a  cro^zy  courier  and  a  hair-brained  naval 
officer,  who  had  neither  of  them  the  fear  of  God  or  a  proper  re- 
spect for  the  comfort  and  safety  of  their  own  limbs  before  their 
eyes.    Neither  were  we  unwilling  to  part  company,  having  already 


A  GALLOP  ACROSS   THE  PAMPAS. 


257 


found  him  to  be  a  decided  incubus.  Upon  entering  the  principal 
room  in  the  post-house,  we 'found  it  already  occupied  by  several 
travellers,  who  were  laudably  comforting  themselves  with  beef  and 
brandy  after  the  fatigues  of  the  day  ;  one,  who  immediately  re- 
cognized me,  was  the  Basque  whom  I  had  met  at  St.  Luis,  and 
who  had  proved,  as  I  anticipated,  the  dupe  of  the  designing  Grer- 
man  in  whose  company  I  met  him  ;  the  latter  having  suddenly 
decamped  with  two  of  his  horses,  and  leaving  sundry  small  debts 
for  board  and  advances  of  money  unpaid.  Room  was  speedily 
and  courteously  made  for  me  at  the  table,  where  I  found  myself 
"  cheek  by  jowl"  with  an  American  mechanic,  who,  after  passing 
several  years  in  Buenos  Ayres,  was  incited  by  the  desire  to 
better  his  fortune  by  seeking  El  Dorado  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, which  had  suddenly  become  a  portion  of  his  own  country. 
The  evening  passed  in  cheerful  conversation,  when  my  country- 
man and  myself  spread  out  our  saddle  clothes  and  jponchos^  so  as 
to  form  a  double  bed  ;  and  thanks  to  our  long  ride  and  freedom 
from  care,  soon  fell  asleep,  notwithstanding  the  trumpeting  of 
the  dozen  persons,  who  conjointly  with  us  occupied  the  apartment, 
and  the  piteous  groaning  of  the  Pole,  who,  with  the  versatility  of 
his  nation,' was  bitterly  cursing  his  fate,  pressing  into  service 
with  that  object  all  the  expletives  known  to  modern  European 
languages. 

March  24. — Having  a  letter  of  introduction  to  an  Englishman 
who  kept  a  small  store  in  Rio  Quarto,  I  determined  to  deliver  it, 
in  order  to  effect  some  arrangement  by  which  to  dispatch  my 
Pole  to  Cordova,  where  his  feats  of  strength  and  faculties  for 
eating  fire  might  enable  him  to  recruit  his  finances.  The  arrange- 
ment was  speedily  effected,  as  the  distance  to  Cordova  was  not 
great,  and  I  took  a  passage  for  him  in  an  ox-cart,  giving  him  also 
a  sufficiency  of  money  to  pay  his  expenses  during  the  journey.* 

=^  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  the  same  two-and-a  half  ounces 
which  I  expended  for  the  "distressed  Pole/'  was  not  paid  to  the  American 
consul  according  to  promise.  It  is,  however,  a  satisfactory  reflection  that  I 
was  neither  the  first,  or  by  any  means  the  last  person  imposed  upon  by  un- 
fortunate individuals  of  that  peculiarly  unfortunate  Sclavonic  race 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


In  the  public  square  were  some  cavalry,  practicing  with  broad- 
sword, in  which  they  displayed  no  great  skill.  The  garrison  of 
the  place  is  about  six  hundred,  and  the  population  some  two 
thousand  souls.  After  breakfast  the  band  of  the  battalion  came 
to  the  door  of  our  fonda^  and  saluted  us  with  a  few  wild  and 
noisy  airs  adapted  to  their  instruments,  which  were  trumpets 
without  keys.  Their  object  was  attained,  as  on  the  same  princi- 
ple that  we  pay  organ  grinders,  our  trumpeters  were  liberally 
bought  off.  By  virtue  of  some  private  arrangement  with  Don 
Antonio,  the  Basque  now  joined  our  party,  and  continued  with  us 
to  Buenos  Ayres.  At  about  11  a.m.,  taking  leave  of  my  coun- 
tryman, who  wished  to  reach  Achiras  that  evening,  and  our 
ci  devant  companion,  the  Pole,  who  forced  me  to  go  through  the 
superfluous  formality  of  taking  a  receipt  for  the  money  I  had 
advanced  to  him,  we  set  out  on  our  journey,  and  after  riding  nearly 
one  hundred  miles,  stopped  short  of  the  post-house  of  Tres 
Cruces,  where  we  intended  to  have  stopped,  and  turning  in  from 
the  road,  slept  outside  of  a  hut,  which  was  known  to  the 
postiiioa. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE  PAMPAS. 

For  divers  reasons  most  satisfactory  to  myself,  I  have  deter- 
mined, at  this  point,  to  conclude  my  itinerary  narrative  ;  firstly, 
because  I  cannot  hope  that  its  continuance  would  particularly 
interest  any  amiable  or  credulous  person,  who  through  kindly 
feeling  toward  the  author,  or  vague  hope  of  obtaining  amusement 
or  valuable  information,  may  be  tempted  to  the  perusal  of  ni  y 
production.  Secondly,  because  having  given  an  account  of  tlie 
mode  of  travel  in  the  plains,  and  a  cursory  sketch  of  their  inhab- 
itants, there  is  little  of  interest  to  add,  as  I  have  been  always 
the  most  unfortunate  among  travellers  in  freedom  from  adventu  - 
rous  and  startling  incidents  ;  and  thirdly,  because  I  have  lost  the 
scanty  notes  which  I  made  at  the  time,  and,  although,  I  have  a 
list  of  the  post  houses,  upon  examination  cannot  make  them 
quadrate^  as  a  notorious  naval  commander  of  my  acquaintance 
once  expressed  it,  with  my  own  recollections.  In  general  terms, 
therefore,  I  will  in  this  chapter  give  a  succinct  account  of  the 
Pampas,  and  the  remainder  of  my  journey  across  them. 

Passing  from  the  province  of  Cordova,  we  entered  Santa  Fe, 
where  as  danger  existed  from  the  Indians,  we  slept,  whenever  it 
was  possible,  at  a  fortified  post  house.  The  defensive  arrange- 
ments of  these  establishments  merits  special  notice  from  their  singu- 
larity. The  house  being  in  the  centre  of  a  square,  is  surrounded 
by  a  ditch,  inside  of  which  is  planted,  one,  two,  and  sometimes 
hree  rows  of  cactus^  which  forms  a  protection  against  the  foraging 


260  CHILI  AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


savages,  who  will  never  dismount  from  their  horses  to  remove 
any  formidable  obstacle.    The  square  is  approached  by  a  draw- 
bridge, while  the  house  supplied  with  loop  holes,  overtopping  the 
wall  of  cactus^  enables  the  inhabitants  to  fire  upon  the  assailants. 
Thus  the  Indians  are  generally  repelled  in  their  attack  upon  any 
fortified  house,  and  their  successful  attacks  are  generally  made 
on  isolated  houses,  which  are  not  defended  by  either  walls  of  un 
burnt  bricks,  or  cactus.    The   next  day,  after  leaving  Rio 
Quarto,  we  breakfasted  at  Fraile  Muerto,  a  town  of  some  two 
thousand  inhabitants.    On  the  same  afternoon,  we   met  the 
government  courier  on  his  way  to  the  Westward,  who  informed 
me  that  a  post  carriage  was  following  behind,  containing  a  Bra- 
zilian and  Frenchman.    The  Brazilian,  I  was  informed,  was  a 
Mr.  Guimaraes,  and  having  an  intimate  friend,  as  well  as  very 
pleasant  casual  acquaintance  of  that  name,  near  Eio  de  Janeiro, 
I  had  strong  hopes  that  the  stranger  might  prove  to  be  one  or 
the  other.    We  quickened  our  pace,  and  instead  of  the  short 
gallop,  which  was  our  usual  gait,  indulged  ourselves  in  a  run,  in 
order  to  compensate  for  our  expected  delay  when  we  should  meet 
the  strangers.    At  length,  in  the  distance,  we  saw  the  cloud  of 
dust  \Thich  almost  invariably  marks  and  distinguishes  the  post 
coach,  and  its  four  galloping  horses,  but  before  we  met,  I  was 
destined  again  to  renew  my  acquaintance,  much  against  my  will, 
with  our  common  mother  earth,  as  my  horse  stumbling  in  a 
Bizcacho  hole,  upon  recovering  made  the  sudden  leap  peculiar  to 
guacho  trained  horses,  to  escape  the  cruel  rowels,  which  invaria- 
bly punish  a  mishap  of  this  kind.    The  projectile  motion  I  was 
almost  always  prepared  for  while  riding  across  the  plains,  and 
successfully  resisted  in  this  instance  ;  but  quicker  than  thought,  I 
was  left  face  to  heaven,  and  back  to  the  sod,  by  the  unexpected 
movement  which  succeeded  it.    My  guachc  bridle,  whose  long 
plaited  thong  serves  also  for  a  whip,  served  me  well  in  this 
emergency,  as  I  still  retained  the  end  of  it  in  my  hand,  and 
was  thus  enabled  to  secure  my  horse.    Not  having  been  hurt, 
and  anxious  to  avoid  the  sly  raillery  of  my  friend,  Don  Antonio, 


THE  PAMPAS, 


261 


I  immediately  attempted  to  remount,  but  the  saddle  turning,  I  was 
obliged  to  girt  it  afresh,  and  thus  found  myself  some  miles  be- 
hind my  companions,  whom  I  overtook  by  hard  riding  before  we 
met  the  coach.  A  knowing  smile  and  remark  upon  my  dusty 
apparel,  showed  that  I  was  discovered,  and  Don  Antonio  would 
never  concede,  afterward,  that  I  was  exactly,  what  he  called  a 
ginete^  or  perfect  horsemen,  though  he  did  me,  perhaps,  more 
than  justice  in  informing  many  persons  in  Buenos  Ayres,  after 
our  arrival,  that  he  had  never  had  a  comjpanero  before,  who  was 
not  a  guacho^  who  was  so  hardy  as  his  friend,  Don  Isac. 

At  length,  the  carriage  drew  up  alongside  of  us,  and,  although 
I  had  not  the  satisfaction  of  meeting  the  friend  I  expected,  I  had 
a  pleasant  conversation  with  a  gentleman  of  Eio,  who  shared 
with  me  many  agreeable  acquaintances.  He  informed  me, 
that  his  friends  had  been  very  apprehensive  for  his  safety  in 
making  this  journey,  having  heard  much  of  the  dangers  from 
Indians,  and  begged  I  would  call  at  a  certain  direction  which  he 
gave  me,  and  inform  them  of  his  safety,  and  of  his  having  tra- 
versed the  most  exposed  Province  of  St.  Fe.  Although  I 
afterward  lost  the  address,  by  dint  of  inquiries  at  Rio,  I  found 
the  proper  person,  whose  appreciation  of  this  act  of  common 
civility,  was  evinced  by  divers  acts  of  hospitality  during  my  stay. 
While  conversing  with  Mr.  G  ,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
amining a  Pam^a  ccach^  the  first  I  had  seen,  and  which  I  would 
be  glad  to  describe,  were  it  not  utterly  indescribable  ;  a  daguerre- 
otype of  one  ought  to  make  the  exhibitor's  fortune  in  these 
degenerate  times  ;  and  failing  in  a  description,  I  will  leave  the 
filling  up  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader,  giving  him  a  clue 
by  suggesting  as  a  prototype,  a  vehicle  which  might  have 
conveyed  the  family  of  the  patriarch  Noah  to  the  ark,  prior 
to  their  embarkation.  The  harness  was  quite  as  primitive,  and 
if  simplicity  and  strength  be  acknowledged  to  combine  all  neces- 
sary qualifications,  it  was  perfect.  As  regards  the  former,  the 
reader's  imagination  will  be  much  assisted  by  a  visit  to  Norfolk, 
where  the  harness  and  accoutrements  of  the  market  carts  is  even 
1 2* 


262         CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


an  exaggeration  of  that  of  the  Pampas  ;  but  should  he  have  no 
other  object  in  view,  I  would  not  by  any  means  compromise  my- 
self by  advising  the  trip,  as  I  fear  greatly,  that,  however  satis- 
factory might  be  the  result,  as  far  as  an  elucidation  of  my  own 
description  is  concerned,  that  the  entire  result  would  not  com- 
pensate for  the  pains  and  time  employed,  unless  he  should  be 
particularly  partial  to  navol  officers^  oysters^  and  Hag -fish.  In 
regard  to  strength,  unlike  the  Norfolk  harness  already  alluded  to, 
there  was  no  deficiency,  as  it  was,  of  green  hide  of  the  stoutest 
kind,  but  secured  in  the  loosest  manner  to  the  carriage,  neither 
reins,  breast  straps,  or  stretchers  being  used,  while  the  traces 
were  single  pieces  of  hide  rope  secured  to  the  saddle  of  the  pos- 
tilion, who  was  required  for  each  horse  in  the  absence  of  reins 
and  other  appurtenances,  to  which  we  are  accustomed  in  countries 
which  have  made  greater  progress  in  the  mechanic  arts."^ 

This  mode  of  conveyance  through  the  plains  possesses  advan- 
tages for  those  who  are  unaccustomed  to  riding  on  horseback,  or 
to  the  privation  of  comforts  by  the  way  side,  as  many  conveni- 
ences not  otherwise  attainable,  in  addition  to  bedding,  which  is 
seldom  found  on  the  road  in  South  America,  may  be  stowed  in 
the  carriage.  It  is,  however,  slower  than  riding  post,  though  not 
so  much  so  as  might  be  expected,  as  the  horses  are  ridden  at  full 
gallop,  and  changed  as  frequently  as  those  of  the  courier,  while 
the  time  lost  at  the  post  house  in  waiting  for  horses  is  no  greater, 
as  when  one  is  brought  in  from  the  plains  it  is  as  easy  to  bring 
in  one  hundred.  The  expense  is  much  greater,  however,  as  four 
horses  and  as  many  postilions  are  required,  who  must  be  paid  at 
the  rate  of  a  single  one.  An  upset  in  a  coach  is  a  much  more 
probable  occurrence  than  a  fall  from  a  horse,  my  own  recent  ex- 
perience to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  while  there  is  danger 
of  attracting  the  Indians  by  the  sight  of  the  cloud  of  dust  which 
hangs  over  the  route  of  a  post  coach.  Single  horsemen  make 
little  dust,  and  when  in  the  vicinity  of  Indians,  avoid  that  danger 

*  Sir  Francis  Head  recommends  this  mode  of  harnessing  for  Light 
Artillery. 


THE  PAMPAS. 


263 


by  keeping  off  the  partially  beaten  track,  and  riding  on  tbe  grass. 
After  encharging  each  other  with  such  messages  to  the  shores  of 
the  respective  oceans,  as  might  be  expected  from  men  supposed 
to  be  embarked  in  a  dangerous  enterprise,  we  took  a  kindly  leave 
of  each  other,  and  amid  the  spurring,  cursing,  and  yelling  of  the 
postilions,  whose  uncoupled  horses,  at  starting,  expended  their 
force  in  every  direction  except  the  right  one,  our  courier  shouted 
his  old  cry,  Fuego  at  Cam'^o^'^  and  before  the  carriage  had  got 
fairly  under  headway,  we  had  galloped  more  than  a  mile  on  our 
journey.  Santa  Fe,  in  addition  to  the  danger  from  Indians,  is 
also  subject  to  rains,  which  caused  us  to  lose  the  greater  part  of 
three  days,  as  the  courier,  notwithstanding  my  assurances  that  his 
dispatches  were  perfectly  protected  by  my  clothing,  could  not  be 
induced  to  take  the  road.  In  all  the  provinces,  immense  numbers 
of  cattle  were  seen  daily ;  and  at  times,  particularly  in  Santa  Fe 
and  Buenos  Ayres,  we  rode  for  miles  through  herds  of  horned 
cattle  and  horses,  extending  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in 
every  direction.  It  was  only  after  several  days'  experience  in 
these  two  provinces  that  I  began  to  realize  the  probability  of  a 
statement  which  had  been  made  to  me  by  a  very  intelligent 
Buenos  Ayrian  official,  that  in  one  year  10,000,000  of  hides  had 
been  exported  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Considering  that,  according 
to  the  census  of  1840,  the  whole  number  of  cattle  in  the  United 
States  was  not  greater  than  fifteen  millions,  this  statement 
appears  almost  incredible,  but  it  did  not  appear  so  to  me,  after 
crossing  the  plains  ;  and  considering  that  the  immense  number, 
the  millions  and  millions  of  cattle  which  I  saw  from  the  road, 
were  but  a  tithe  of  the  vast  number  contained  in  these  extended 
pastures.  The  amount  of  game  which  I  saw  was  not  equal  to 
my  expectations.  It  is  true  I  saw  many  deer  and  ostriches,  but 
not  so  many  as  I  expected ;  whereas,  in  smaller  game,  such  as 
hares  and  partridges,  it  fell  infinitely  short  of  the  Plateau  of 
Brazil.  The  most  level  of  the  Provinces  which  I  traversed  was 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  after  that  Santa  Fe,  but  I  saw  nowhere  the 
dead  sea  level  which  has  been  described  by  some  travellers  and 


264 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


geographers.  In  the  latter  provinces,  and  as  we  approached  the 
Atlantic,  a  great  improvement  was  observable  in  the  habitations, 
and  much  more  refinement  among  the  people.  During  the  last 
day's  journey,  we  even  found  some  families  who  resided  alter- 
nately in  the  city.  We  passed  through  the  towns  of  Areco, 
Arricifi.«,  and  Luxan,  none  of  which  merit  especial  mention, 
V  if  my  opportunities  had  been  sufficient.  The  number  of 
ox  trains  which  are  met  on  the  plains  are  very  considerable,  as 
may  be  imagined,  when  it  is  considered  that  by  such  conveyance 
all  the  commerce  of  the  plains  and  interior  cities  is  conducted. 
The  carts  are  extremely  rude  in  their  construction,  being  com- 
posed of  a  body,  tongue,  and  two  solid  wooden  wheels.  Little  or 
no  iron  is  used  in  their  construction,  all  bands  being  composed  of 
green  hide,  which,  put  on  wet,  by  contraction  becomes  nearly  as 
strong  and  hard  as  metal.  The  covers  are  stray/  and  green  hide, 
and  occasionally  canvas.  The  teams  consist  of  six  pairs,  the 
yokes  being  invariably  secured  to  the  head  and  horns  of  the  ani- 
mals. Suspended  from  the  roof  of  the  cart  is  a  long  pole  reach- 
ing to  the  leading  yoke,  through  which  projects  a  spike,  by 
which  the  oxen  are  goaded  according  to  necessity  or  the  caprice 
of  the  driver.  A  second  spike  within  the  first,  is  adapted  to  the 
necessities  of  the  second  yoke,  while  a  short  hand  goad  is  used 
for  inciting  those  attached  to  the  tongue.  The  number  of  carts 
in  a  troop,  is  generally  twelve,  and  as  they  never  grease  the 
wooden  axles,  or  the  inner  circumference  of  the  wooden  wheels, 
the  sounds  produced  are  anyttiing  but  musical,  and  by  no  means 
an  agreeable  accompaniment  to  a  long  march  on  a  summer  day. 
This  creaking  sound  is  heard  at  a  very  great  distance,  and  points 
out  their  position  to  the  Indians,  who  generally  make  their  forays 
at  night  or  early  in  the  morning,  when  the  ox-carts  commence 
their  journey.  These  trains  are  the  principal  objects  of  their 
attack,  as  those  which  are  bound  inland  are  loaded  with  such 
merchandise  as  they  consider  most  valuable,  and  hence  it  is,  that 
the  traveller  who  may  be  on  horseback,  if  acquainted  with  the 
fact,  always  avoids  passing  the  night  in  their  vicinity. 


THE  PAMPAS 


265 


I  remember  one  night  at  the  post  house  of  Cabeza  del  Tigre, 
where  I  had  insisted  on  stopping  against  the  maturer  judgment 
of  Don  Antonio,  for  what  I  could  not  but  consider  several  valid 
reasons — that  it  was  late  at  nio-ht — that  we  were  tired — that  a 
substantial  supper  was  in  preparation,  and  nearly  read}^,  and  that 
there  was  among  the  members  of  the  household  a  pair  of  pretty 
senoritas — that  my  companion  went  to  bed  growling  bitterly, 
because  of  a  train  of  ox-carts  which  he  assured  me  would 
bring  the  Indians  down  upon  us  before  morning.  I  slept,  however, 
none  the  less  soundly  on  account  of  his  predictions,  having  de- 
termined to  trust  to  luck  or  destiny,  which  has  befriended  me 
often  before  and  since.  In  all  my  journeys  across  the  plains,  I 
seldom  slept  in  a  house,  although  immediately  in  their  vicinity, 
as  I  preferred  the  pure  air  and  accommodations  afforded  by  my 
own  travelling  bed,  to  the  closeness  of  the  houses,  and  the  not 
remote  probability  of  my  being  thoroughly  excoriated  by  fleas, 
which  in  this  country  attain  a  size  and  ferocity  which  is  really 
formidable  to  the  uninitiated.  The  people  of  the  country  I  found 
invariably  kind  and  courteous,  and  as  a  stranger  I  always  had  the 
best  of  everything  which  their  hum.ble  habitations  would  afford, 
even  when  there  was  no  seat  in  the  rancho^  save  the  solitary  skull 
of  a  bullock  that  was  the  prerogative  of  the  "  GringOy''^  who  had 
also  the  first  cut  at  the  roast  beef  when  brought  on  a  spit  from 
the  embers,  and  v/as  entitled  to  the  largest  or  the  only  spoon  when 
joining  a  party  of  perhaps  half  a  dozen,  in  eating  casioela  out  of 
the  same  pot. 

I  mention  these  facts  in  justice  to  the  guacho  character,  which 
I  do  not  think  has  been  fairly  described  by  either  Sir  Francis 
Head,  or  by  Darwin.*  The  former  remarks  that  he  always  cocked 
his  pistols  when  he  met  guachos.  Whereas,  I  as  invariably  had 
my  cAz/res"  unslung,  and  prepared  to  give  them  a  drink  and 
chat  with  them  upon  the  character  of  the  road  ahead,  and  the 
wealth  and  resources  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  difference, 

*  The  montaneres  or  robbers,  alluded  to  by  former  travellers,  appeared  to 
have  disappeared  entirely,  as  I  neither  saw  or  heard  of  them. 


266 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


perhaps,  may  be  a  national  one.  Sir  Francis  Head  was  an 
Englishman,  and  I  an  American. 

A  general  description  of  these  interesting  plains  will  not  be 
inappropriate  nor  do  I  believe  unacceptable  to  the  reader.  The 
first  region,  travelling  from  the  westward,  and  embracing  the 
greater  portion  of  the  Province  of  Mendoza,  produces  a  growth 
of  low  trees,  or  shrubs,  and  a  long  coarse  grass.  During  the 
year  there  is  little  apparent  change,  as  the  trees  seldom  lose  their 
leaves,  and  the  grass  always  preserves  the  dingy  green  by  which 
it  is  characterized  in  temperate  climates.  The  second  region, 
which  extends  over  St.  Luis,  Cordova,  and  Santa  Fe,  and  a 
portion  of  Buenos  Ayres,  produces  a  high  grass,  less  coarse  and 
better  adapted  for  pasture  than  that  which  precedes  it.  The 
third  region,  comprising  a  portion  of  Buenos  Ayres,  is  the 
most  remarkable,  and  produces  clover  and  thistles.  The  changes 
in  vegetation  in  the  year  are  marked  and  singular,  but  having 
traversed  it  at  a  time  when  the  most  curious  phenomena  did  not 
present  themselves,  I  will  transcribe  for  the  benefit  of  my  readers 
the  graphic  description  of  Sir  Francis  Head,  which  agrees 
precisely  with  that  which  was  given  me  by  the  natives  of  the 
country,  especially  by  my  friend  and  comjpanero  Don  Antonio,  the 
courier.  I  might,  it  is  true,  give  the  same  description  in  lan- 
guage of  my  own,  but  I  have  an  inherent  respect  for  those  who 
are  first  upon  a  field,  as  pioneers  of  travel,  and  consider  it 
almost  in  the  light  of  a  literary  theft  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
others,  and  by  clothing  the  same  fact  or  idea  in  diflferent  language, 
escape  the  direct  imputation  of  plagiarism  and  obtain  credit 
under  false  pretences.  The  intelligent  reader  will  not  regret  my 
conscientiousness,  as  there  is  at  times  a  rare  beauty  in  the  style 
of  this  author  which  I  should  in  vain  attempt  to  imitate. 

"  The  first  region,  or  that  lying  nearest  the  Atlantic,"  says 
Head,  "  varies  with  the  four  seasons  of  the  year  in  a  most 
remarkable  manner.  In  winter  the  leaves  of  the  thistles  are 
large  and  luxuriant,  and  the  whole  surface  of  the  country  has  the 
rough  appearance  of  a  turnip  field.    The  clover  in  this  season  is 


THE  PAMPAS. 


267 


extremely  rich  and  strong,  and  the  sight  of  the  wild  cattle  grazing 
in  full  liberty  on  such  pasture  is  very  beautiful.  In  spring  the 
clover  has  vanished,  the  leaves  of  the  thistles  have  extended 
along  the  ground,  and  the  country  still  looks  like  a  rough  crop  of 
turnips.  In  less  than  a  month  the  change  is  most  extraordinary  ; 
the  whole  region  becomes  a  luxuriant  wood  of  enormous  thistles, 
which  have  suddenly  shot  up  to  the  height  of  ten  or  eleven  feet, 
and  are  all  in  full  bloom.  The  road,  or  path,  is  hemmed  in  on 
both  sides  ;  the  view  is  completely  obstructed  ;  not  an  animal  is 
to  be  seen ;  and  the  stems  of  the  thistles  are  so  close  to  each 
other,  and  so  strong,  that  independent  of  the  prickles  with  which 
they  are  armed,  they  form  an  impenetrable  barrier.  The  sudden 
growth  of  these  plants  is  quite  astonishing ;  and  though  it  would 
be  an  unusual  misfortune  in  military  history,  yet  it  is  really  possi- 
ble, that  an  invading  army,  unacquainted  with  this  country, 
might  be  imprisoned  by  these  thistles  before  they  had  time  to 
escape  from  them.  The  summer  is  not  over  before  the  scene 
undergoes  another  rapid  change.  The  thistles  suddenly  lose 
their  sap  and  verdure,  their  heads  droop,  the  leaves  shrink  and 
fade,  the  stems  become  black  and  dead,  and  they  remain  rattling 
with  the  breeze  one  against  another  until  the  violence  of  the 
Pampero^  or  hurricane,  levels  them  to  the  ground,  where  they 
rapidly  decompose  and  disappear,  the  clover  rushes  up,  and  the 
scene  is  again  verdant." 

The  variation  of  climate  is  not  very  great.  In  the  region  of 
grass  and  trees  the  atmosphere  is  dry,  in  that  of  thistles  and 
clover  it  is  moist,  while  the  middle  region,  or  that  of  grass, 
though  generally  dry,  assumes  the  characteristics  of  the  thistle 
region  on  its  borders.  This  is  peculiarly  the  case  in  Santa  Fe, 
where  we  were  detained  a  part  of  three  days  by  rains,  as  had 
been  predicted  by  the  courier  even  before  we  left  St.  Luis.  The 
climate  is  healthy  although  the  dews  are  very  heavy.  There  is 
seldom  a  dead  calm  on  the  Pampas,  and  the  breeze  rises  in  the 
afternoon  similar  to  the  sea  breeze  on  tropical  coasts, 
g  The  Pampero,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  the  characteristic  wind, 


268 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


and  blows  violently  across  the  plains  from  the  Andes.  Its 
healthful  influence  is  measurably  counterpoised  by  the  prejudicial 
effects  upon  commerce,  as  the  republic  possesses  no  good  ports. 

Sir  Francis  Head,  who  was  employed  in  these  provinces  as  an 
agent  for  some  English  mining  companies,  at  one  time  crossed 
the  plains  from  Mendoza  to  Buenos  Ayres  in  eight  days,  which  is 
the  shortest  time  in  which  I  have  authentic  information  of  the 
journey  having  been  performed.  My  own  transit  in  twelve  days, 
was  considered  a  fair  average  for  the  government  courier,  who 
had  eighteen  years'  experience  on  the  route ;  yet  we  were 
detained  by  rain  when  he  would  not  travel,  and  still  longer  by 
having  to  wait  at  the  post  houses  till  the  horses  could  be  corralle.d 
and  lassoecL  Head,  in  speaking  of  travelling  on  the  Pampas, 
remarks,  "  It  is  of  course  a  hard  life  ;  but  it  is  so  delightfully 
independent,  and  if  one  is  in  good  riding  condition,  so  rapid  is 
the  mode  of  travelling,  that  I  have  twice  chosen  it,  and  would 
always  prefer  it ;  but  I  recommend  no  one  to  attempt  it  unless  he 
is  in  good  health  and  condition.  When  1  first  crossed  the  Pam- 
pas I  went  with  a  carriage,  and  although  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  riding  all  my  life,  I  could  not  at  all  ride  with  the  peons,  and  after 
galloping  five  or  six  hours,  was  obliged  to  get  into  the  carriage  ; 
but  after  1  had  been  riding  for  three  or  four  months,  and  had 
lived  upon  beef  and  water,  I  found  myself  in  a  condition  which  I 
can  only  describe  by  saying,  that  I  felt  no  exertion  could  kill 
me.  Although  I  constantly  arrived  so  completely  exhausted 
that  I  could  not  speak,  yet  a  few  hours'  sleep  upon  my  saddle  on 
the  ground  so  completely  restored  me,  that  for  a  week  I  could  be 
upon  my  horse  before  sunrise,  could  ride  till  two  or  three  hours 
after  sunset,  and  have  really  tired  ten  and  twelve  horses  a  day. 
This  will  explain  the  immense  distances  which  people  in  South 
America  are  said  to  ride,  which  I  am  confident  could  only  be 
done  on  beef  and  water." 

The  Pampa  Indians  I  was  so  fortunate  as  not  to  meet,  and 
consequently  cannot  be  expected  to  give  a  description  of  them. 
Had  I  met  them,  probably  the  result  would  have  been  the  same, 


THE  PAMPAS. 


269 


as  they  seldom  if  ever  allow  males  who  once  fall  into  their  power 
to  escape.  I  cannot  believe  them  to  be  very  numerous,  as  their 
regular  roaming  grounds  are  confined  to  a  very  limited  region,  but 
their  predatory  habits,  the  rapidity  of  their  movements,  and  the 
uncertainty  of  the  object  of  their  attack,  makes  them  extremely 
formidable  to  the  inhabitants,  and  exercises  an  important 
influence  upon  the  commerce  of  the  plains.  They  are  in  fact  on 
the  plains  what  the  piratical  cruisers  were  in  former  times  to  the 
commerce  of  the  seas  and  the  unprotected  coasts,  which  is  here 
represented  by  the  ox  trains  and  the  frontier  habitations.  As 
piracy  was  suppressed  by  the  employment  of  men-of-war,  equally 
fast  sailers,  better  manned  and  armed,  so  must  the  piracy  of 
the  plains  be  suppressed  by  iighfc  irregular  cavalry,  who  can 
follow  the  Indians  to  their  haunts  and  exterminate  them  when 
overtaken,  and  destroying  their  villages,  killing  their  cattle,  and 
carrying  off  their  women  and  children  as  hostages,  force  them 
into  the  making  and  keeping  of  a  treaty  of  peace.  In  certain 
seasons  of  the  year,  when  the  grass  does  not  have  a  distinct  trail, 
bloodhounds  might  be  advantageously  employed,  and  with 
their  assistance,  I  feel  assured  that  a  very  small  force  such  as  I 
have  suggested  might  Goon  put  an  end  to  the  forays  of  these 
savages,  whose  only  mercy,  if  ifc  may  be  so  called,  is  shown 
toward  the  young  and  pretty  women,  whom  they  appropriate,  and 
whose  incursions  keep  the  whole  frontier  and  route  to  Mendoza 
and  Cordova  in  a  constant  state  of  fear  and  excitement.'^ 

*  Our  philanthrophic  progenitors  would  doubtless  express  themselves 
horrified  by  such  a  proposition  when  it  comes  from  an  American,  notwith- 
standing their  own  antecedents  with  the  marooning  negroes  in  Jamaica,  and 
even  in  later  times,  if  we  believe  Chambers'  paper  on  Australia  and  Van 
Dieman's  land.  "Two  hundred  and  forty  (convicts)  were  at  the  penal 
settlement  of  Port  Arthur,  on  a  barren  peninsula  connected  v/ith  the  main 
by  a  narrow  neck  ol  land.  Across  this  runs  a  line  of  posts  guarded  by 
savage  dogs,  and  some  soldiers  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  culprits.  Never 
theless,  some  do  evade  even  the  vigilance  of  the  brute  watchers ;  and  we 
have  heard  of  several  men,  who  clothing  themselves  in  the  skins  of  kanga 
roos,  and  imitating  the  motions  of  the  animal,  thus  contrived  to  escape/' 
Chambers^  Australia  and  Van  Dleman^s  Land^vo].  vi. 


270 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


It  is  the  opinion  of  some  writers,  among  whom  Head  is  the 
most  conspicuous,  that  the  Indians,  with  fire-arms,  would  exercise 
an  important  political  influence  in  South  America,  and  that  those 
who  roam  the  Pampas,  united  with  the  w^arlike  Araucanians,  and 
mounted  on  the  horses  brought  to  oppress  their  forefathers, 
might  rush  from  the  cold  region  to  which  they  have  been  driven, 
with  an  irresistible  fury,  and  trample  under  foot  the  descendants 
of  Europeans.  This  is  an  impossible  contingency.  The  Pampa 
Indians  already  have  fire  arms,  which  they  lay  aside  for  the 
lance,  which  for  their  purposes  is  a  more  appropriate  weapon. 
They  never  dismount  during  their  forays,  which  are  made  sud- 
denly, and  they  are  even  checked  by  a  house  slightly  fortified  by 
a  hedge  of  cactus.  Their  object  is  to  escape  from  and  not  to 
attack  bodies  of  armed  men,  and  fire  arms  would  render  them 
less  formidable  by  impeding  their  rapidity  of  movement.  The 
whole  number  of  undomesticated  Indians  now  in  South  America, 
in  its  whole  extent,  would  be  too  small  to  make  them  formidable 
to  the  permanent  settlements. 

Any  one  acquainted  with  Indian  character,  will  readily  appre- 
ciate the  improbability  of  difierent  tribes  uniting  for  a  common 
cause  ;  as  contiguity  makes  them,  generally,  more  inimical  to 
each  other  than  to  their  common  enemy.  The  Araucanians 
derive  their  passive  power  from  the  position  which  they  occupy 
in  the  fastnesses  of  the  extreme  south  of  the  Chilian  territory ; 
and,  removed  thence,  they  would  cease  to  be  formidable  ;  more- 
over, they  are  not  horsemen,  and  would  rather  embarrass  than 
assist  the  operations  of  the  Pampa  Indians.  As  occurs  with 
many  philosophical  writers.  Head  attributes  too  great  an  influ- 
ence to  the  efiects  of  climate,  when  he  anticipates  a  conquest  of 

It  is  certainly  a  desirable  object  to  retain  the  convicts  within  the  limits 
prescribed  by  the  authorities.  Yet  it  is  incommensurate  with  the  object  to 
be  attained  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pampas  and  those  employed  in  the 
transportation  of  merchandize.  With  them,  their  life  as  well  as  property- 
depends  upon  keeping  within  bounds  the  excursions  of  the  merciless  and 
ferocious  savages. 


THE  PAMPAS. 


271 


the  existing  establishments  in  South  America,  from  the  colder 
regions"  of  the  south  or  north. 

From  a  distance,  the  appearance  of  Buenos  Ayres  is  by  no 
means  prepossessing,  and  possesses  none  of  the  picturesque 
beauty  of  Santiago,  Lima,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  or,  indeed,  the  great 
majority  of  the  South  American  capitals.  After  a  long  ride 
through  the  city,  I  arrived  at  the  Hotel  de  Provence,  which  had 
been  highly  recommended  to  me,  and  dismounting,  hastened  to 
extract  my  baggage  from  the  mail  bag,  in  order  to  allow  my  friend 
Don  Antonio  to  make  his  appearance  at  the  Post  Office,  which 
he  dared  not  do,  with  its  existing  contents.  Anxious  for  his 
speedy  liberation,  as  delay  might  compromise  him,  I  took  no 
heed  of  my  own  afiairs,  and  having  deposited  my  scanty  ward- 
robe on  a  piazza,  on  an  inner  court,  I  learned,  upon  enquiry,  that 
I  could  not  be  accommodated  with  a  room,  as  the  city  was  at 
that  time  extremely  full  of  strangers.  The  courier  had  made 
his  hasty  adieux  when  this  disagreeable  announcement  was  made 
to  me  by  a  servant,  and,  considering  that  it  was  raining,  and  this 
my  first  visit  to  the  city,  my  position  was  very  far  from  being  an 
enviable  one  ;  and,  seeing  a  very  pretty  French  woman  within, 
whom  I  was  informed  was — not  mine  hostess — but  she  whom  I 
wished  to  officiate  in  that  capacity,  I  determined  to  avail  myself 
of  the  supposed  greater  susceptibility  of  the  sex  to  pity,  and 
entreated  that  I  might  have  a  room,  however  unpretending. 

It  was  utterly  impossible — utterly — she  wished  that  Monsieur 
could  only  see  the  extremes  to  which  she  herself  was  compelled 
to  resort,  in  respect  to  sleeping  apartments,  and  he  would  be  con- 
vinced of  the  impossibility  of  my  being  accommodated.  She 
suggested,  however,  that  her  mother  kept  an  hotel  in  another 
part  of  the  town,  and  might,  possibly,  be  able  to  accommodate  me. 
So,  thanking  her  for  the  interest  she  had  displayed  in  my  affairs, 
which  I  would  scarce  have  troubled  myself  to  do,  considering  the 
very  slight  nature  of  the  obligation,  had  she  not  been  so  exceed- 
ingly pretty,  and  committing  my  baggage  to  her  care,  during  my 
absence,  I  threw  on  my  foncho^  and  wading  through  the  several 


272  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


inches  of  water  whicli  invariably  distinguishes  a  heavy  shower  in 
this  city,  eventually  discovered  the  house  of  Madam  Mere,  where 
I  had  the  inestimable  good  fortune  to  secure  a  room  without  a 
window,  and  with  the  slight  drawback  of  being  obliged  to  share 
it  with  three  German  merchant  captains.  Kecessitas  non  hahet^ 
&c.,  &c. — every  one  knows  what  necessity  has  not.  So  I  trans- 
ported my  baggage  to  this  point,  and  attempted  to  imagine  my- 
self perfectly  contented,  which,  in  truth,  I  found  somewhat  diffi- 
cult, under  the  circumstances.  There  is  a  loneliness,  as  I  expe- 
rienced upon  this  occasion,  in  the  large  city,  which  I  had  never 
felt,  either  in  mountain  or  plain,  each  of  which  I  regretted,  as  I 
found  myself  houseless  among  a  crowd  of  strangers,  each  of 
whom  had  their  domiciles,  so  that  I  had  not  even  the  satisfaction 
derived  from  companionship  in  misery.  In  the  evening,  how- 
ever, matters  brightened  and  improved.  At  the  table  d'hote  I 
met  an  old  acquaintance,  and,  afterward,  our  Consul,  Charge  des 
Affaires^  and  other  countrymen,  who  wished  to  extend  to  me 
hospitality  and  civility.  In  lieu  of  my  uncomfortable  quarters,  a 
wealthy  countryman  who  owned  the  best  house  in  the  city,  placed 
its  accommodations  at  my  disposal ;  and  the  gloomy  prospects 
which  dimmed  my  first  arrival,  were  speedily  dispelled  by  kind- 
ness received  on  every  side.  Meeting,  in  the  course  of  the  even- 
ing, with  Captain  Clarke,  an  American  in  command  of  a  brig 
about  to  sail  for  Rio  de  Janeiro,  he  kindly  invited  me  to  take 
passage  with  him,  an  offer  I  gladly  accepted,  and  in  four  days 
from  my  arrival  in  Buenos  Ayres,  I  had  embarked  and  was  on 
my  way  to  Brazil, 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 


BUENOS  AYRES. 

The  city  of  Buenos  Ayre$^  the  capital,  and  only  important  sea- 
port of  the  Argentine  Confederation^  has  been  so  frequently 
described  by  travellers  and  voyagers,  that  more  than  a  passing 
reference  would  be  superfluous  in  this  place. 

Its  appearance  is  by  no  means  imposing  when  viewed  from  a 
distance,  as  its  site  is  too  level  to  display  at  all  advantageously. 
The  streets,  as  usual  in  Spanish  cities,  are  laid  out  at  right  angles, 
are  of  sufficient  width,  tolerably  well  paved,  and  clean  except 
during  the  heavy  rains,  when  its  drainage  is  so  defective  that 
many  of  them  are  flooded  with  water.  The  most  important  are 
appropriately  named  after  the  neighbluring  Republics,  as  Callede 
Ckilij  Bolivia^  Peru^  &c.  The  style  of  architecture  is  the  Mo- 
resco^  resembling  that  found  in  Havana  and  Vera  Cruz.  Unlike 
all  the  cities  of  Brazil  and  Chili,  its  houses  have  flat  terraced 
roofs,  to  which  the  inhabitants  resort  in  the  mornings  and  even- 
ings of  the  hot  season.  Houses  are  found  in  the  principal  streets 
of  two  and  three  stories,  although  the  greater  number  have  but 
one.  There  are  no  chimneys,  and  as  the  climate  is  quite  cool 
during  the  winter,  much  discomfort  is  experienced  by  all  classes 
from  cold.  Even  were  the  houses  provided  with  fire  places,  the 
scarcity  and  expense  of  fuel  would  place  it  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  great  majority  of  the  people,  and  hence,  although  the  climate 
is  not  sufficiently  rigorous  to  produce  much  actual  suffering,  I 


274  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES 


have  no  doubt  more  inconvenience  is  felt  from  cold  than  in  any 
of  the  northern  cities  of  onr  country. 

The  religious  architecture  is  respectable,  though  not  remark- 
able for  its  beauty  or  extent,  while  the  public  edifices  are  generally 
substantial  and  well  adapted  to  their  destination.  A  new  palace 
which  is  being  built  under  the  direction  of  General  Eosas,  is  an 
extensive  and  well  constructed  edifice,  covering  a  large  space  near 
the  centre  of  the  city.  The  port  is  notoriously  exposed,  and  ill 
adapted  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,  the  water  being  so  shal- 
low that  large  vessels  cannot  anchor  within  six  or  eight  miles  of 
the  beach,  while  the  coasting  vessels  lie  at  nearly  half  that  dis- 
tance. A  small  frigate,  or  even  a  large  sloop-of-war,  when  an- 
chored as  near  as  practicable,  are  hull  down  from  the  city. 

The  shallowness  of  the  water,  and  the  frequent  and  violent 
Pamrperos  which  during  the  winter  interrupt  communication  with 
the  shore,  renders  this  city  an  extremely  inappropriate  locality  for 
a  great  commercial  depot,  and  the  fact  that  its  commerce  is 
really  so  extensive,  displays  the  importance  of  the  products  of  the 
country,  which  have  enabled  it  to  triumph  over  so  many  dis- 
advantages. The  landing  on  the  beach  is  inconvenient,  and  con- 
ducted somewhat  ludicrously  by  means  of  small  high-wheeled 
carts,  which  drive  through  the  shallow  water  to  a  point  at  which 
the  boats  can  arrive.  A  b^t  with  many  passengers  is  immedi- 
ately surrounded  by  these  carts,  and  the  passenger  is  fortunate, 
if  in  the  emulation  of  their  respective  drivers,  he  be  not  as 
thoroughly  soused  as  if  he  had  waded  on  shore  without  availing 
himself  of  their  assistance.  He  may,  however,  escape  the  mud 
which  abounds  in  the  greatest  profusion  along  the  beach.  At  the 
time  of  my  visit  the  road  was  ^Ued  with  vessels  awaiting  cargoes 
of  hides  and  tallow,  which  the  removal  of  the  blockade  had  made 
available  as  a  supply  for  the  deficiency  felt  in  Europe  and  the 
United  States,  It  was  on  account  of  the  number  of  vessels, 
whose  captains  generally  lived  on  shore,  that  I  was  refused  ad- 
mittance at  the  Hotel  de  Provence,  and  that  I  was  compelled  to 
share  accommodations  with  the  Dutch  captains. 


BUENOS  iVYRES. 


275 


The  character  of  the  Government  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  the 
question  of  hostilities  between  the  Argentine  Republic  and 
Montevideo,  as  connected  with  the  English  and  French  interven- 
tion, are  subjects  which  have  attracted  very  general  attention 
throughout  America  and  Europe,  and  my  sketch  will  be  doubtless 
considered  incomplete  without  an  exposition  of  what  T  deem  to  be 
the  facts  of  the  case,  and  an  expression  of  my  opinion  as  to  its 
merits.  Be  it  known,  however,  that  I  approach  this  subject  not 
without  fear  and  trembling,  as  conflicting  testimony  makes  it  the 
most  difficult  subject  to  decide,  while  General  Rosas  has  in  more 
than  one  instance  shewn  himself  so  much  alive  to  the  influence  of 
the  press,  that  he  resents,  officially,  an  honest  expression  of  opin- 
ion on  the  part  of  any  traveller  who  may  comment  upon  his  ad- 
ministration, especially  when  such  comments  are  made  by  per- 
sons holding  an  official  position. 

My  means  of  information  might,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
be  considered  ample,  having  served  in  the  river  La  Plata  in  1841 
and  '47,  having  had  frequent  opportunities  of  conversing  with 
partizans  of  both  the  Buenos  Ayrean  and  Montevidean  Republics, 
disinterested  persons  holding  divers  opinions,  and  having  carefully 
and  laboriously  studied  the  able  articles  which  have  appeared 
from  time  to  time  in  the  Archivo  Americano^  and  Gacet a  Mercan- 
tile the  organs  of  Rosas,  and  the  Commercio  del  Plata^  of  Mon- 
tevideo, the  exponent  of  the  views  and  opinions  of  the  antago- 
nistic party.  Notwithstanding  so  many  mis-statements  have  been 
made  by  each  party,  that  it  is  the  most  difficult  imaginable  task 
to  arrive  at  the  merits  of  the  case,  and  I  would  fain  avoid 
the  subject,  did  I  not  deem  it  essential  as  a  termination  of  my 
sketch. 

After  the  attainment  of  independence  of  Spain,  the  various 
provinces,  excepting  Paraguay,  formed  a  confederation  known  in 
the  family  of  nations  as  the  United  Provinces,  or  the  Argentine 
Confederation,  and  for  many  years  was  governed  by  various  chiefs, 
who  replaced  each  other  in  rapid  succession,  in  the  same  manner 
of  which  we  have  a  happy  exemplification  in  the  neighbouring 


276 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES 


Republic  of  Mexico.  The  country  might  be  considered  as  di- 
vided into  two  great  parties,  known  as  Unitarians^  or  Centralists^ 
who  wished  to  consolidate  the  G-overnment  after  the  manner  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  Federalists^  who  wished  the  per- 
fect independence  of  the  provinces.  The  difference  was,  that 
between  our  own  country,  under  the  articles  of  Confederation, 
and  under  our  present  Constitution.  The  frequent  insurrections 
and  changes  of  Grovernment  continued  with  little  intermission  un- 
til April,  1835,  when  for  the  second  time  (he  was  first  inaugu- 
rated in  1828)  the  present  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres  obtained 
the  control.  General  Eosas  has  been  frequently  represented  as  a 
guacho^  or  man  of  the  people,  whose  talents  and  enterprise  had 
elevated  him  to  his  present  position.  This  is  an  incorrect  view, 
as  Rosas,  although  a  Haciendero^  or  owner  of  grazing  farms,  had 
every  advantage  which  could  be  derived  from  education  and  from 
association,  as  his  family  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  in  the 
Province ;  his  grandfather,  as  has  been  heretofore  mentioned, 
having  been  the  Spanish  Viceroy  of  Chili.  His  wealth  was  great, 
and  being  exceeding  shrewd  and  of  a  bold,  daring  disposition,  and 
one  of  the  most  skilful  horsemen  in  South  xAmerica,  he  acquired 
great  influence  among  the  guachos,  who,  owing  to  the  division  of 
parties  and  cliques  in  the  principal  cities,  had  become  the  most 
influential  class.  A  successful  campaign  against  the  Pampa  In- 
dians, brought  about  his  election  in  1828  as  Grovernor  of  the 
Province  of  Buenos  Ayres.  Subsequent  civil  commotions  caused 
him  to  be  recalled  to  the  Governorship,  which,  however,  he  refused 
to  accept,  until  he  was  endowed  with  such  powers  as  would  ena- 
ble him  to  crush  any  attempt  at  rebellion  against  his  authority. 
This  was  finally  conceded,  and  Rosas  inaugurated  for  the  second 
time,  in  1835,  since  which  time  he  has  governed  not  only  the 
Province  of  which  he  is  really  the  Governor,  but  the  entire  Ar- 
gentine Confederation,  with  a  rigidity  never  excelled,  if  ever 
equalled,  by  the  Spanish  Yiceroys.  Neither  has  his  administra- 
tion been  undistinguished  by  barbarities,  for  which  even  his  most 
ardent  admirers  cannot  but  hold  him  responsible,  as  if  they  were 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


277 


not  done  by  his  order,  they  might  have  been  prevented  had  he 
exerted  the  power  which  he  certainly  wielded.  In  Buenos  Ayres, 
some  distinguished  citizens  who  were  inimical  to  him  were  assas- 
sinated, while  at  a  later  period  one  of  his  most  violent  and  talent- 
ed opponents,  the  editor  of  the  Commercio  dtl  Plata^  of  Monte- 
video, was  removed  in  the  same  manner.  A  question  arose  with 
Bolivia,  in  which  the  minister  of  that  republic,  having  shown  a 
disposition  to  thwart  the  Dictator,  was  soon  after  found  stabbed 
in  the  streets,  with  all  his  money  and  valuables  on  his  person.  lu 
a  city  where  the  police,  public  and  secret,  is  very  numerous,  and 
in  a  high  degree  vigilant,  these  assassinations  are,  to  say  the  least, 
singular  coincidences,  and  the  fact  that  the  perpetrators  were 
never  discovered,  gave  a  certain  degree  of  plausibility  to  the  sus- 
picions which  they  excited.  Those  who  believe  that  Napoleon  sac- 
rificed Pichegrue,  and  Lieut.  Wright  of  the  R.  N.,  in  prison,  will 
find  it  difficult  to  avoid  falling  into  the  opinion  expressad  by  the 
enemies  of  the  Dictator.  The  year  1836  was  distinguished  by 
the  blockade  of  Buenos  Ayres,  enforced  by  the  French  on  ac- 
count of  some  supposed  aggressions  upon  the  rights  of  their  citi- 
?i8ns,  and  by  the  civil  war  in  Buenos  Ayres,  which  brought  the 
power  of  Rosas  nearly  to  an  end,  as  Lavalle,  the  leader  of  the 
Unitarians,  then  the  most  numerous  party,  with  an  imposing 
force,  advanced  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Buenos  Ayres.  Pre- 
vious to  this  misunderstanding  with  the  French,  Rivera  had  been 
President  of  Montevideo,  but  Oribe  having  been  elected  to  fill 
the  executive  chair,  the  former  took  command  of  the  army.  To 
the  French,  who  were  preparing  for  hostile  operations  against 
Buenos  Ayres,  the  city  of  Montevideo  as  a  depot,  and  the  co- 
operation of  the  people,  was  very  desirable,  and  they  accordingly 
endeavoured  to  make  a  treaty  with  Oribe  to  secure  him  to  their 
interests.  In  this  attempt  they  failed  at  the  time,  owing  to  the 
loyalty  of  Oribe  to  his  friend,  but  the  commercial  rivalry  which 
for  many  years  had  existed  between  these  two  outlets  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  plains,  aided  probably  by  French  influence,  and  the 
desire  of  the  late  Pi^esident  to  regain  his  power,  soon  effected 
13 


278  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGEXTIXE  PROVINCES. 


what  was  desired.  Oribe  was  deposed,  and  hostilities  com- 
menced against  Buenos  Ayres,  by  an  attempt  of  Rivera  to  co- 
operate with  Laavlle,  by  marching  an  army  toward  the  Argentine 
territory,  by  way  of  Entre  Eios.  These  hostilities  on  the  part  of 
Monterideo,  are  attributable,  in  a  high  degree,  to  the  influence 
of  the  Buenos  Ayrian  refugees,  who,  driven  from  their  country 
by  Rosas,  had  sought  safety  from  his  persecution  in  that  Repub- 
lic, where  they  had  denounced  his  cruelties  in  such  unmeasured 
terms,  that  he  was  considered  by  his  new  opponents  as  an  enemy 
to  the  human  raee,  and  a  crusade  ac^ainst  him  in  the  lio-ht  of  a 
religious  duty.  Oribe,  upon  his  deposition,  having  taken  refuge 
on  board  one  of  our  vessels  of  war,  retired  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
where  he  was  kindly  received  by  Rosas,  and  placed  in  command 
of  his  forces  employed  against  Lavalle,  who  was  eventually  defeat- 
ed and  shot,  either  in  cold  blood  or  while  attempting  to  escape 
from  his  pursuers. 

The  organization  of  the  Unitarian  party  in  Buenos  Ayres  hav- 
ing been  destroyed,  and  peace  having  been  established  with  the 
French,  who  appear  not  to  have  made  due  provision  for  their 
weaker  allies,  Rosas  considered  himself  enabled  to  punish  the 
hostile  disposition  shown  by  the  Montevideans,  and  commenced 
operations  by  sending  an  army  into  that  Republic  under  the  com- 
mand of  Oribe,  the  deposed  President,  blockading  at  the  same 
time  the  port  of  Montevideo,  with  a  small  squadron.  Rivera 
took  the  field  against  this  invasion,  in  1S41,  while  strenuous 
efforts  were  directed  by  Commodore  Coe,  an  American  in  the 
service  of  Montevideo,  to  equip  a  fleet  to  raise  the  blockade. 

I  witnessed  the  commencement  of  the  hostile  operations  on 
the  river,  which  were  opened  by  a  general  battle  between  the 
two  flotillas,  consisting  of  nine  sail  of  small  vessels,  immediately 
in  front  of  ^lontevideo,  and  which  terminated,  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  with  the  total  annihilation  of  the  defensive  squadron, 
and  the  disbandins:  of  its  officers  and  men.  The  resources  of 
jMontevideo  were  unequal  to  a  naval  war,  especially  as  their  antag- 
'^ts  had  already  a  di  naval  force,  which,  taking  the  in- 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


279 


itiative  by  a  close  blockade,  prevented  them  from  obtaining 
vessels  or  warlike  munitions  from  abroad. 

In  December,  1842,  Rivera  having  been  driven  from  the  field, 
the  siege  of  Montevideo,  which  has  not  yet  terminated,  was  com- 
menced by  Oribe,  whose  flag  has  been  constantly  within  sight  of 
the  inhabitants. 

Besieged  by  land,  and  blockaded  by  sea,  the  commerce  of  the 
Banda  Oriental  was  paralyzed,  to  the  detriment  and  ruin  of  the 
foreign  as  well  as  the  native  merchants.  The  former  asked,  on 
the  part  of  their  respective  governments,  an  intervention  in  the 
aflfairs  of  the  two  republics,  in  order  to  end  a  war,  which,  while 
utterly  ruinous  to  them,  could,  eventually,  lead  to  no  beneficial 
results. 

Brazil,  perfectly  alive  to  the  danger  of  allowing  the  influence 
f  Rosas  to  cross  the  La  Plata,  took  the  initiative  in  a  negotia- 
ion,  whose  object  was  to  bring  about  an  armed  intervention  by 
.France  and  England ;  but,  perhaps,  fearing  the  result  of  a  war 
vhich  might  dismember  the  Empire  in  the  then  disturbed  state 
)f  the  southern  province  of  Rio  Grande,  took  no  active  part  in 
jhe  subsequent  events,  in  which,  however,  their  interests  and 
sympathies  were  identical  with  those  of  the  Monte videans.  As 
the  two  combined  naval  powers  could  not  obtain  the  terms  which 
they  demanded  from  Buenos  Ayres,  they  sent  a  force  to  assist  in 
the  defence  of  Montevideo,  and  commenced  hostile  operations  by 
the  capture  of  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia,  which  commands 
the  entrance  of  the  upper  waters  of  La  Plata,  and  accompanied 
by  a  large  convoy  of  merchantmen,  forced  a  passage  up  the 
Parana,  the  navigation  of  which  had  been  obstinately  refused  by 
Rosas.  This  incursion  led  to  the  battle  with  the  batteries  at 
'Jbligado,  which  were  abandoned  by  the  Buenos  Ayreans  after  a 
creditable — (heroic  is  the  Buenos  Ayrean  term) — resistance.  The 
greater  portion,  if  not  all  the  Buenos  Ayrean  squadron,  which 
was  utterly  insignificant,  when  comparei  with  that  of  either  of 
their  gigantic  antagonists,  had  been  captured  even  before  the 
ascent  of  the  Parana, 


280 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


The  English,  whose  signal  defeats  upon  the  occasion  of  an 
attack  upon  Buenos  Ayres  in  1806,  and  another  in  1807,  did  not 
encourage  them  to  attempt  land  operations,  soon  became  luke- 
warm in  the  cause  of  the  intervention,  and  after  a  protracted  and 
unsatisfactory  negotiation  with  France  and  the  Government  of 
Kosas,  removed  their  blockading  squadron  in  1847,  and  their 
garrison  from  Montevideo  in  the  succeeding  year,  at  which  time 
their  armed  intervention,  which  had  been  for  some  time  previous, 
merely  nominal,  ended,  and  their  suspended  commercial  relations 
with  Buenos  Ayres  were  practically  renewed. 

The  French  raised  their  blockade  about  the  end  of  the  year 
1848,  when  this  famous  intervention,  which  promised,  at  its  com- 
mencement, to  exercise  a  powerful  and  lasting  influence  on  South 
American  politics,  terminated  in  a  manner  utterly  disgraceful  to 
the  political  and  military  character  of  these  two  nations,  who  not 
only  did  not  attain  a  single  avowed  object  for  which  they  had 
interfered,  but  appeared  too  happy  in  being  permitted  to  recede 
silently  and  ungracefully  from  the  lofty  position  which  they  had 
at  first  assumed.  This  interference  in  a  contest  between  two 
independent  states  was  formed  into  a  powerful  political  capital  by 
the  astute  Dictator  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  his  able,  though  ser- 
vile crowd  of  writers,  who,  while  railing  at  the  lawlessness  of  an 
European  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  the  two  countries,  appear 
to  have  trusted,  that  every  one  else  might  remain  ignorant  of  the 
fact,  that  the  avowed  object  of  the  war  waged  by  Buenos  Ayres 
against  INIontevideo  was  to  reinstate  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment his  partizan,  Oribe,  who  had  been  deposed  and  ejected  by 
the  people ;  whose  original  term,  for  which  he  had  been  elected, 
had  long  since  expired,  and  who,  meanwhile,  had  borne  arms  in 
the  service  of  their  enemies,  against  themselves  and  their  allies. 

The  blockade  of  Montevideo,  as  it  has  never  merited  the 
name  of  a  siege,  in  the  military  signification  of  the  word,  still 
continues.  To  the  inhabitants,  the  present  state  of  affairs  has 
become  a  matter  of  custom,  while  their  enemies  have  turned 
their  cantonments  into  a  city  which  is  beginning  to  rival  Monte- 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


281 


viileo.  The  party  of  Oribe  have  also  a  port  of  entry  near  the 
city,  to  which  commerce  has  been  measurably  diverted,  and 
through  which  the  limited  products  of  the  country  are  principally 
exported. 

This,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  history  of  the  hostilities  which 
have  so  long  injured  the  prosperity  of  the  republics  of  the  La 
Plata,  as  I  understand  it,  and  which  gave  rise  to  the  famous 
intervention  of  the  English  and  French,  which  powerful  nations, 
like  the  French  king  of  yore, 

"  Marched  up  a  hill  and  then  marched  down  again 

having  been  outwitted  by  the  diplomacy  and  by  the  sturdy  obsti- 
nacy of  the  so-called  Guacho  Grovernor  of  Buenos  Ayres. 

There  has  been,  also,  since  the  death  of  Francia,  a  quasi  war 
with  Paraguay,  which  republic  Rosas  insists  upon  as  an  integral 
portion  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  an  honour  to  which  the 
rulers  and  people  do  not  aspire,  and  having  an  army  of  some  twenty 
or  25,000  men,  insist  upon  their  independence.  The  argument 
of  the  Paraguayans  is,  in  my  opinion,  unanswerable,  although  it 
has  been  obscured  by  the  sophistries  of  Rosas,  and  the  able 
writers  in  his  service.  After  the.  independence  of  the  colonies,  a 
Congress  was  held,  which  formed  the  confederation  known  as  the 
United  Provinces.  To  this  Congress  Paraguay  sent  no  deputies, 
preferring  her  independence,  which  she  has  done  up  to  the  pre- 
sent time,  carrying  it,  during  the  Dictatorship  of  Dr.  Francia,  to 
a  system  of  entire  isolation,  unheard  of  previously  among 
nations,  and  equalling  that  now  practised  in  Japan.  These  facts 
prove  that  Paraguay,  after  throwing  off  the  Spanish  yoke,  had 
dt  fadOj  preserved  her  entire  independence,  and  secondly,  that 
she  never  was  a  member  of  the  United  Provinces,  now  known  as 
the  Argentine  Confederation.  A  claim  which  Rosas  has  set  up 
that  Paraguay  must  be  a  member  of  the  Confederation,  because 
Buenos  Ayres  assisted  in  the  achievement  of  her  independence,  is 
utterly  futile.    The  provinces  were  at  war  with  Spain,  and  made 


282  CHILI  AND   THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


common  cause  against  a  common  enemy  ;  and  any  military  ope- 
rations which  diverted  or  weakened  the  power  of  the  mother 
country,  was  alike  advantageous  to  each  and  all.  On  the  same 
principle,  Buenos  Ayres  might  claim  the  Chilian  territory,  which 
their  forces  under  San  Martin  aided  in  wresting  from  the  Span- 
iards, while  the  Columbians  and  Chilians  mio^ht  substantiate  a 
like  claim  upon  Peru. 

A  case  somewhat  similar  to  the  relative  positions  of  Paraguay 
and  the  Provinces  of  the  Confederation,  was  presented  in  our 
own  country  after  the  general  adoption  of  the  present  Federal 
Constitution.  By  an  inherent  provision  in  that  instrument,  a 
majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  states  were  required  to  give  it 
validity.  This  majority  immediately  concurred,  but  the  assent 
of  two  states,  Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina,  was  for  some 
time  withheld.  Until  their  accession,  they  were  considered  as 
foreign  and  independent  States,  and  no  efforts  were  made  to 
coerce  them,  because  the  remaining  eleven  states  had  contributed 
largely  to  their  independence. 

Another  question  of  much  general  importance  has  been  moot- 
ed, during  and  previous  to  the  European  intervention  in  the 
affairs  of  the  La  Plata  republics,  and  one  in  which  all  nations  are 
more  or  less  interested,  and  the  Empire  of  Brazil  in  an  especial 
manner.  This,  in  relation  to  the  right  to  the  free  navigation  of 
the  river  Paraguay  and  its  tributaries,  which  Rosas,  holding  as 
has  been  already  suggested,  the  key,  by  the  possession  of  the  for- 
tified island  of  Martin  Garcia,  has  refused  to  concede  to  foreign 
flags.  That  nations  have  a  perfect  right  to  preclude  foreigners 
from  a  participation  in  their  internal  navigation,  and  their 
coasting  trade,  has  never  been  disputed,  but  when  more  than 
one  nation  has  territory  upon  the  banks  of  the  same  river, 
the  case  is  entirely  different.  Each  nation  whose  territoiies  bor- 
der upon  it,  have  an  undoubted  right  to  the  use  of  what  ancien^^ 
(Roman)  writers  on  public  law  have  appropriately  considered  as 
"  common  property." 

Modern  writers  have  termed  this  an  imperfect  right  in  its  gen- 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


283 


eral  acceptation,  but  no  one  witla  wliom  I  have  met  denies  the 
actual  existence  of  the  mht  in  a  case  similar  to  that  of  Brazil. 
The  Eoman  writers  declared  rivers  to  be  public  property,  and 
that  the  necessary  use  of  the  banks  was  incident  to  that  of  the 
water.  Public  jurists  apply  this  principle  of  the  Eoman  civil 
iaw,  to  the  same  case  between  nations."^  The  right  to  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Scheldt  was  in  1648  renounced  by  the  Belgic  Pro- 
vinces in  favor  of  the  Dutch.  In  this,  as  was  in  another  instance 
urged  by  the  latter,  both  parties  were  probably  influenced  by  the 
fact  that  the  navigation  was  in  great  part  artificial,  the  river  hav- 
ing been  diked  and  made  navigable  by  Hollanders.  By  the 
treaty  of  Vienna  in  1815,  the  commercial  navigation  of  rivers 
flowing  through,  or  bounding  different  states,  was  de^slared  free 
their  entire  course,  subject  only  to  an  uniform  system  of  police 
regulations.  The  rivers  thus  opened  were  the  Rhine,  Scheldt, 
Neckar,  Mayne,  Meuse,  Moselle,  Elbe,  Vistula,  and  Po. 

As,  however,  Rosas  has  pretended  to  sustain  American  princi- 
ples, and  American  policy,  the  determination  of  our  own  govern- 
ment upon  one  occasion  of  the  discussion  of  a  similar  question, 
cannot  but  be  instructive  and  usefub  especially  as  the  natural  po- 
sition of  the  United  States  was  nearly  identical  with  that  of  Brazil 
in  the  question  involving  the  navigation  of  the  Paraguay,  and  free 
egress  for  her  flwviatile  commerce. 

The  United  States,  while  subject  to  Great  Britain,  were  secured 
in  th^ free  navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi,  by  the  treaty  of 
1763,  between  France,  Spain,  and  the  mother  country,  and  sub- 
sequently, after  the  achievement  of  their  independence,  ,  by  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  1783.  Spain  having  afterward  obtained  possession 
of  both  banks  of  that  river  at  its  mouth,  and  a  considerable  dis- 
tance above,  claimed  the  exclusive  navigation,  which  was  stoutly 
resisted  by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  The  question 
was  finally  adjusted  by  the  treaty  of  1795,  in  the  following 
words. 

At  tide  4. — And  his  Catholic  Majesty  has  likewise  agreed 
Wheaton,  Law  of  Nations,  page  243. 


284 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


that  the  navigation  of  the  said  river  (Mississippi,)  in  its  whole 
breadth,  from  its  source  to  the  ocean,  shall  be  free  only  to  his 
subjects,  and  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  unless  he  should 
extend  this  privilege  to  the  subjects  of  others  powers  by  special 
convention. 

Article  22. — And  in  consequence  of  the  stipulations  con- 
tained in  the  4th  Article,  his  Catholic  Majesty  will  permit  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  for  the  space  of  three  years  from 
this  time,  to  deposit  their  merchandize  and  effects  in  the  port  of 
New  Orleans,  and  to  export  them  from  thence,  without  paying 
any  other  duty  than  a  fair  price  for  the  hire  of  stores.  And 
his  Majesty  promises  either  to  continue  this  permission,  if  he 
finds,  during  that  time,  that  it  is  not  prejudicial  to  the  interests 
of  Spain,  or  if  he  should  not  agree  to  continue  it,  then  he  will' 
assign  to  them,  on  another  part  of  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
an  equivalent  establishment." 

In  1803  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  that  the  Governor  of  New  Orleans  had  withdrawn 
the  right  of  deposit,  upon  which  a  series  of  resolutions  were  in- 
troduced into  the  United  States  Senate,  which  may  be  consid- 
ered a  fair  representation  of  American  sentiment  upon  this 
subject. 

Resolutions  of  Mr.  RosSj  read  hy  the  Vice-President  of  the 
United  S^tates^  in  the  Senate^  on  the  23d  of  Fehruary^  1803. 

1.  Resolved^  That  the  United  States  have  an  indisputable 
right  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi,  and  to  a 
convenient  place  of  deposit  for  their  produce  and  merchandise  in 
the  island  of  New  Orleans. 

2.  That  the  late  infraction  of  such,  their  unquestionable 
right,  is  an  aggression  hostile  to  their  honour  and  interest. 

3.  That  it  does  not  consist  with  the  dignity  or  safety  of  this 
Union,  to  hold  a  right  so  important  by  a  tenure  so  uncertain. 

4.  That  it  materially  concerns  such  of  the  American  citi- 
zens as  dwell  on  the  western  waters,  and  is  essential  to  the  union, 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


285 


strength,  and  prosperity  of  these  states,  that  they  obtain  complete 
security  for  the  full  and  peaceable  enjoyment  of  such,  their  abso- 
lute right. 

"  5.  That  the  president  be  authorized  to  take  immediate 
possession  of  such  place,  or  places,  in  the  said  island,  or  the  ad- 
jacent territories,  as  he  may  deem  fit  and  convenient  for  the  pur- 
poses aforesaid,  and  to  adopt  such  other  measures  for  obtain- 
ing that  complete  security  as  to  him  in  wisdom  shall  seem 
meet. 

6.  That  he  be  authorized  to  call  into  actual  service  any 
number  of  the  militia  of  the  states  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  or  the  Mississippi  Territory,  which 
he  may  think  proper,  not  exceeding  fifty  thousand,  and  to  employ 
them  together  with  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the  Union  for 
effecting  the  objects  above  mentioned. 

7.  That  the  sum  of  five  millions  of  dollars  be  appropriated 
to  carrying  into  effect  the  foregoing  resolutions ;  and  that  the 
whole,  or  any  part  of  that  sum  be  paid,  or  applied,  on  warrants 
drawn  in  pursuance  of  such  directions,  as  the  president  may  from 
time  to  time  think  proper  to  give  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Trea- 
sury." 

These  resolutions  were  most  ably  debated  until  the  28th  of 
February,  when  they  were  rejected  by  a  vote  of  fifteen  to  twelve, 
and  a  resolution  unanimously  carried  that  the  President  should  be 
authorized,  when  he  deemed  it  expedient,  to  call  out,  arm,  and 
equip,  according  to  law,  and  to  hold  in  readiness  to  march  at  a 
moment's  warning,  an  army  of  80,000  militia,  and  that  an  un- 
specified sum  be  appropriated  to  carry  out  the  foregoing  purposes 
during  the  recess  of  Congress,  and  that  money  be  considered  as 
appropriated  to  enable  the  president  to  establish  one  or  more 
arsenals  on  our  western  waters." 

If  these  resolutions,  as  proposed,  and  as  finally  carried,  without 
a  dissenting  voice,  be  not  considered  sufficiently  indicative  of  the 
American  feeling  upon  this  mooted  question,  the  forcible  arguments 
13* 


S86  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVixn  v.x.o. 


of  one  of  tlie  orators,  (Mr.  White  of  Delaware,)  may  perhaps 
more  fully  exemplify  it. 

"  You  had  (said  that  gentleman)  as  well  attempt  to  dam  up 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  say  to  its  restless  waves,  ye 
shall  cease  here,  and  never  mingle  with  the  ocean,  as  to  expect 
that  they  (the  Western  paople)  will  be  prevented  from  descend- 
ing it.  Without  the  free  use  of  the  river,  and  the  necessary  ad- 
vantages of  a  deposit  below  our  line,  their  country  is  not  worth 
possessing;  their  produce  must  be  wasted  in  the  fields  or  rot  in 
their  granaries.  ^  ^  These  are  rights  not  only  guaranteed 
them  by  treaty,  but  given  to  them  by  the  Grod  of  Nature,  and 
they  will  enforce  them  with,  or  without  the  authority  of  the  Gov- 
ernment." 

In  relation  to  this  discussion,  the  ablest  modern  commentator 
on  public  law  remarks,  that  the  claim  of  the  United  States  was 

rested  by  the  American  government  on  the  sentiment  written 
in  deep  characters  on  the  heart  of  man,  that  the  ocean  is  free  to 
all  men,  and  its  rivers  to  all  their  inhabitants.  This  natural  right 
was  found  to  be  universally  acknowledged  and  protected  in  all 
tracts  of  country  united  under  the  same  political  society,  by  laying 
navigable  rivers  open  to  all  their  inhabitants.  When  these  rivers 
enter  the  limits"  of  another  society,  if  the  right  of  the  upper 
inhabitants  to  descend  the  stream  was  ia  any  case  obstructed,  it 
was  an  act  of  force  by  a  stronger  society  against  a  weaker,  con- 
demned by  the  judgment  of  mankind."^ 

In  the  instance  just  cited,  an  appeal  to  arms,  to  support  the 
natural  rights  of  our  citizens,  by  the  United  States,  did  not  be- 
come necessary,  as  the  deposit  was  immediately  restored,  and 
the  final  purchase  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana  from  France, 
into  whose  hands  it  had  fallen  through  the  mutations  of  the  times, 
has  set  the  question  forever  at  rest,  so  far  as  the  Mississippi  is 
concerned. 

A  brief  inspection  of  the  map  of  South  America,  will  explain 
the  views  which  I  have  taken,  and  will  elucidate  the  perfect  right 
*  Wheaton  on  the  Law  of  Nations,  page  249. 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


287 


of  Brazil,  possessing  vast  and  fertile  territories  upon  the  Parana 
and  the  upper  and  navigable  branches  of  the  Paraguay,  to  a  free 
outlet  to  the  ocean  through  the  La  Plata.  Without  it,  these  rich 
lands  are  almost  valueless,  owing  to  the  distance  from  the  sea,  to 
attain  which,  a  land  journey  of  nearly  four  months  is  required, 
and  the  enormous  6xpens3  attending  land  transportation  through 
an  uninhabited  country,  intersected  only  by  mule  paths. 

The  geographer  and  economist  would  doubtless  have  expected 
that  a  free  and  cheap  transit  to  the  ocean  must  have  been  secured 
prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  towns  and  cities  found  in  the 
hydrographie  basin  of  the  Paraguay.  Such  is  not  the  case.  These 
towns,  as  Cuyaba,  the  capital  of  Matto  Grosso,  were  established 
at  an  early  period  in  the  colonial  history  of  Brazil,  in  the  vicinity 
of  gold  washings  locally  as  productive  as  those  recently  found  in 
California.  Gold  and  diamonds  would  easily  remunerate  for 
even  a  tedious  land  transportation,  but  now  the  w-ashings  having 
become  unproductive,  these  fertile  frontier  posts  find  themselves 
completely  isolated  from  the  sea,  and  the  remainder  of  the  empire, 
without  exchangeable  productions. 

Judging  from  my  own  experience,  attained  while  travelling  in 
Brazil  in  1843  and  '44,  and  by  the  information  obtained  from 
persons  who  have  visited  these  regions,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
with  a  free  outlet,  they  would  speedily  become  the  richest  portion 
of  the  interior  of  the  empire.  A  Fliivialile  squadron  is  now 
stationed  by  the  Imperial  Government  in  the  waters  of  the  Upper 
Paraguay,  as  a  check  against  the  Indians  and  Bolivians,  who  have 
made  some  encroachments  in  that  direction.  Bat  even  this  national 
force  is  not  allowed  to  pass  through  the  La  Plata,  and  their  hav- 
ing descended  as  far  as  Assumption  in  1847,  was  made  a  subject 
matter  of  complaint  by  the  petulant  and  aggressive  government 
of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  right  of  egress  to  Paraguay  is  equally 
good  as  that  of  Brazil.  Bolivia  has  also  claimed  it  with  justice, 
1  cannot  but  think,  although  her  case  is  not  so  clear  as  that  of 
the  two  countries  already  specified. 

I  have  been  thus  explicit  in  treating  upon  this  subject,  as  much 


288         CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


obscurity  has  been  thrown  npon  a  matter  perfectly  clear  and  in- 
contestible,  by  the  voluminous  and  sophistical  writers  of  Rosas ; 
and  as  he  pretends  to  have  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  party 
purely  American  in  its  principles,  I  am  most  happy  to  place 
before  any  of  his  partizans,  who  may  meet  this  sketch,  a  brief  ac- 
count of  what  has  been  the  action  taken  in  a  similar  case  by  the 
greatest  nation  of  the  new  world,  and  which  must  of  necessity 
take  the  lead  of  any  so  termed  continental  party.  The  events  of 
the  last  few  years  have  proved  too  clearly  how  little  would  be,  at 
the  present  day,  respected  by  our  countrymen,  a  pretension  simi- 
lar to  that  set  up  by  the  Governor  of  Buenos  Ay  res. 

Government. — Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  exist- 
ence of  two  distinct  political  parties  in  Buenos  Ayres,  the  Unita- 
rian or  Central,  and  the  Federal.  The  former  party  is  consider- 
ed the  most  intelligent  and  liberal,  and  is  composed  of  the  edu- 
cated inhabitants  of  the  cities,  while  the  latter  is  composed  prin- 
cipally of  ignorant  guachos^  of  whom  Rosas  may  be  considered 
the  leader,  but  not  the  representative.  It  is  not,  however,  be- 
cause this  chieftain  had  any  objections  to  centralizing  the  powers 
of  the  government,  that  he  is  not  in  name  the  Centralist,  but  be- 
cause he  availed  himself,  as  not  unfrequently  occurs  in  representa- 
tive states,  of  the  name  and  physical  force  of  the  opposing  party 
to  attain  power  and  influence. 

In  regard  to  the  division  of  population  into  political  parties, 
there  is  an  antagonism  in  the  position  of  things  in  the  two  republics 
of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Montevideo,  which  tends  to  elucidate  the 
absence  of  a  general  principle  in  the  actions  of  the  government 
of  the  former.  Oribe  is,  or  was  in  Montevideo,  the  organ  of 
the  Conservative  party,  while  Rivera  represented  the  niasses  ;  yet 
Rosas  himself,  elevated  by  the  power  of  the  latter,  has  waged  a 
tedious  and  cruel  war  to  destroy  in  a  neighbouring  country  the  in- 
fluence of  the  very  party,  to  which,  in  Buenos  Ayres,  he  owed 
his  own  elevation. 

In  1841,  by  the  defeat  of  Lavalle,  the  Unitarian  party  was 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


269 


Tirtually  destroyed,  and  its  principal  members  now  wander  iu 
foreign  countries,  to  which  they  have  been  driven  by  the  power 
of  the  Dictator.  In  lieu  of  the  badge  of  that  party,  nothing  is  now 
seen  in  Buenos  Ayres  but  red  waistcoats,  red  hat  bands,  and  de- 
vices of  the  Rosista  party.  It  must  not,  however,  be  imagined  that 
this  unanimity  in  reality  exists.  It  is  far  from  being  the  case, 
and  the  uniformity  in  device  and  emblem  is  a  matter  of  stem 
necessity.  Many  stories  are  told  of  the  cruelty  and  outrage  by 
which  the  wearing  of  this  badge  was  enforced  by  a  club  of  ruf- 
fians, who,  in  1840  and  1841,  intimidated  the  oppressed  people  of 
that  unfortunate  city.  Severe  corporal  punishment  in  the  street, 
"was  the  result  of  appearing  without  the  device,  and  from  this 
punishment  even  women  were  not  exempt.  In  1841,  I  met  in- 
Montevideo,  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  girl  about  eighteen 
years  old,  who  was  said  to  have  been  whipped  with  a  leather 
thong  on  the  bare  back,  by  some  members  of  this  atrocious  club, 
for  appearing  in  the  street  without  a  red  ribbon  in  her  hair.  That 
Rosas  controlled  and  directed  this  club  of  ruffians,  is  asserted  not 
only  by  his  enemies  ;  that  he  could  have  suppressed  it  at  any  mo- 
ment, no  unprejudiced  person,  acquainted  with  the  power  which 
he  has  at  all  times  wielded  since  his  accession,  can  possibly  doubt. 
That  he  is  cruel  and  stern  beyond  precedent  in  modern  times,  or 
that  he  is  the  tool  and  representative  of  a  most  savage  and  bar- 
barous constituency  there  can  be  no  question. 

There  is  truth  in  some,  if  not  all  the  imputations  against  him, 
and  we  are  little  disposed  to  be  incredulous,  when  crimes  and 
acts  of  tyranny  and  oppression  are  charged  upon  a  ruler,  who 
obliges  his  subjects  to  wear  a  uniform  to  mark  their  adherence 
to  his  party  ;  who  obliges  men  without  distinction  of  class  to 
wear  red  vests,  hat-bands,  and  red  ribbons  in  their  button-holes, 
with  the  inscription,  Huzzah  for  the  Argentine  Confederation  : 
Death  to  the  savage,  ruthless  Unitarians  obliges  women  to 
wear  ribbons  of  the  same  color  in  their  hair,  or  head-dresses,  and 
who  sanctioned  the  shooting  a  pregnant  woman  for  adultery,  not- 


290 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


withstanding  all  efforts  which  were  made  to  obtain  reprieve  when 
pardon  had  been  refused. 

In  addition  to  these  barbarisms,  which  disgrace  the  century  in 
which  they  are  chronicled,  the  sentries  of  Rosas,  in  passing  the 
watch-word,  on  their  posts,  during  the  French  blockade  in  1838, 
added,  Death  to  the  French  and  Admiral  Le  Blanc."  All 
official  documents,  correspondence,  and  newspaper  advertise- 
ments are  premised  by  an  anathema  upon  the  unfortunate  Unita- 
rians. For  example,  rooms  to  let  ,are  thus  advertised — ^'  Viva 
la  Confederacion  Argentina  Mueran  los  Salvages  Unitarios. 

Rooms  to  let,  Calle  No.  18."    We  can  pity  the  extremes 

into  which  the  creatures  of  the  first  French  revolution,  then^ 
selves  the  instruments  and  victims,  were  led  by  the  impulses  of 
popular  frenzy  ;  but  when  despotism  is  driven  to  such  shifts  as 
those  enumerated,  it  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  barbarism  of 
either  the  ruler  or  the  ruled. 

The  people  of  the  Provinces  I  found  invariably  civil  and  kind  ; 
and  cannot  but  consider  this  anomaly  of  the  times,  as  a  part  and 
portion  of  the  system  of  terror  and  charlatantism  which  has  dis- 
tinguished this  government. 

The  Unitarian  party  being,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  vir- 
tually extinct,  and  their  system  crushed,  we  have  to  treat  only  of 
that  established  by  Rosas,  by  courtesy  termed  the  federal. 

The  Argentine  Confederation,  as  now  constituted,  consists  of 
thirteen  Provinces,  each  nominally  governed  by  a  Provincial  As- 
sembly, and  a  Grovernor  elected  by  the  people.  Of  this  confedera- 
tioQ  Buenos  Ayres  is  a  constituent  part,  and  according  to  the  con- 
stitution of  the  government,  has  no  control  over  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  remaining  provinces,  which  are  deemed  entirely  independent. 
In  theory,  therefore,  the  Argentine  Confederation  is  essentially  Fe- 
deral ;  but  between  the  theory  and  practice,  there  is  a  marked  and 
curious  difference.  By  some  understanding,  rather  implied  than 
expressed,  as  I  understand  it,  Rosas  has  been  encharged  with  the 
.exterior  relations  of  the  Confederation  ;  and  upon  the  strength  of 
this  position,  he  not  only  conducts  without  question  or  responsibility 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


291 


tlie  external  intercourse,  but  rules  the  federal  and  independent  pro- 
vinces with  a  rigidity,  which  is  equalled  by  no  other  modern  des- 
potism. It  would  be  amusing  to  observe  the  difference  between 
the  professions  of  the  Grovernment  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  have 
deceived  so  many  foreigners,  and  the  facts  as  they  really  exist, 
were  it  not  a  melancholy  spectacle  to  see  a  nation  so  perfectly 
submissive  to  the  illegal  exactions  of  one  man  in  possession  of  a 
physical  and  moral  force  of  which  he  has  at  no  time  shown  an 
indisposition  to  avail  himself.  The  descendants  of  the  Spaniards 
in  America,  are  generally  factious  and  revolutionary  ;  but  in  the 
Argentine  Provinces  their  spirit  seems  utterly  crushed  by  oppres- 
sion ;  and  that  liberty,  in  whose  name  were  in  former  times  com- 
mitted'so  many  outrages  in  this  beantiful  land,  they  dare  no 
longer  invoke,  even  in  their  prayers,  fearful  that  the  spirits  of  the 
air,  may  translate  it  to  the  jaalous  ears  of  their  stern  rulers. 

In  accordance  with  the  theory  of  the  federal  constitution,  all 
the  states  of  the  confederation  possess  equal  rights,  while  their 
rulers  possess  equal  power  and  dignity.  That  this  is  not  the 
case  is  proved  by  all  the  official  acts  of  Rosas.  As  the  inhabit- 
ants of  all  the  provinces  consume  foreign  products,  they  pay,  of 
course,  a  duty  proportionable  to  the  amount  consumed,  and  their 
governments  are  entitled  to  a  just  proportion  of  such  duties  to 
contribute  to  their  support.  In  the  face  of  this  self-evident 
principle,  the  Buenos  Ayrean  government  appropriates  to  its  own 
use  all  the  duties  received  through  this,  the  only  commercial  port 
of  the  confederation.  So  far,  therefore,  as  commerce  is  concerned, 
they  are  independent  states  cut  off  from  the  sea-board  by  a 
foreign  power.  On  the  other  hand  each  province  must  support 
its  government  from  resources  within  itself,  which  accounts  for 
the  transit  duties  so  ruinous  to  commerce,  which  are  levied  ou 
merchandise  in  passing  from  one  to  the  other.  To  pretend  that 
the  provinces  agree  to  this  arrangement,  is  like  the  assumption 
that  all  the  people  of  Buenos  Ayres,  many  of  whom  even  now 
lament  slain  and  exiled  kindred,  are  all  admirers  of  Rosas  and 


292  CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


his  policy,  because  they  wear  red  vests  and  the  divisa.  They 
have  the  knife  at  their  throats,  and  cannot  help  themselves. 

The  Buenos  Ayrean  government  appears  to  believe  that  bloody 
anathemas  against  the  Unitarians  has  also  chained  the  spirit  of 
investigation  among  all  people,  and  that  the  sophistries  of  which 
it  avails  itself  to  convince  the  ignorant  brute  power,  which  is  the 
machinery  by  which  they  control,  and  the  servile  crowd  who 
have  been  persecuted  into  an  involunary  submission,  will  be  con- 
sidered equally  valid  among  foreigners.  All  the  diplomatic  cor- 
respondence in  which  the  government  appears  advantageously 
is  carefully  published  in  the  Spanish,  English  and  French  lan- 
guages, and  most  assiduously  promoted.  The  message  of  Rosas,  in 
English,  was  presented  to  me  in  Santiago,  during  my  stay^  by  an 
admirer  or  agent  of  the  Dictator,  who  appeared  to  have  a  large 
supply  of  similar  documents. 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  now,  having  arrived  at  this  point  of 
my  sketch,  I  should  not  be  able  to  lay  my  hands  upon  this  curious 
paper  in  order  to  compare  contradictory  statements  on  its  face, 
and  enable  the  reader  to  appreciate  the  force  of  my  assertion, 
"  out  of  thine  own  mouth  do  I  condemn  thee." 

In  one  portion  of  the  message  the  Grovernor  congratulates  the 
representatives  upon  the  utter  extinction  of  the  Unitarians,  whose 
remnants  are  lingerincr  out  a  miserable  existence  in  foreio;n  coun- 
tries."^  And  afterward,  in  referring  to  dissatisfaction  in  some  of 
the  Provinces,  he  attributes  it  to  the  intrigues  of  the  "  ruthless 
Unitarians."  Alluding  to  a  revolution  in  Mendoza,  he  informs 
the  representatives  of  Buenos  Ayres  that  he  had  disapproved  the 
conduct  of  the  Grovernor  of  San  Luis,  for  not  sending  troops  td 
the  assistance  of  the  Governor  of  that  Province,  and  approved 
that  of  San  Juan,  which  did  so.  And  again,  upon  the  occasion  of 
an  attempted  revolution  in  San  Luis,  the  Governor  of  Mendoza 
received  a  similar  reprimand.  Bosas  had  determined  to  destroy 
the  organization  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  did  in  effect  banish 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  quoting  from  memory,  I  do  not  pretend  to 
give  the  exact  words,  but  only  the  sense  of  the  points  to  which  I  refer 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


293 


tliem  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Two  retired  to  Cordova,  where  the 
influence  of  Rosas  followed  them,  and  a  document  reached  the 
Grovernment,  suggesting  in  that  impressive  manner  which  charac- 
terizes an  arbitrary  authority,  that  they  should  be  banished.  The 
latter  submissively  replied,  that  it  was  its  desire  to  anticipate  the 
wishes  of  the  Grovernmsnt  of  Bu3nos  Ayres,  and  that  measures 
had  already  been  taken,  and  the  Jesuit  fathers  had  secularized  ;  and 
that  being  old  men,  it  was  hoped  that  the  action  already  taken 
would  be  deemed  sufficient  in  the  premises.  It  did  not  prove  so, 
and  this  he  was  informed  by  the  Mioister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of 
Rosas — for,  be  it  known,  he  never  condescends  to  correspond 
directly  with  his  fellow  Governors — and  in  reply,  His  Excellency 
of  Cordova,  with  numerous  protestations,  assures  the  Dictator 
that  the  superannuated  Jesuits  had  been  banished  from  his  Province 
and  from  the  territories  of  the  Confederation. 

I  mention  these  incidents  in  the  message  from  recollection,  and 
merely  to  show  the  difference  which  exists  between  the  ^professions 
and  the  acts  of  the  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres. 

The  civility  extended  to  foreigners  in  Buenos  Ayres,  especially 
those  holding  official  positions,  has  blinded  too  many  of  them  to 
the  faults  and  weaknesses  of  Rosas'  Government.  Many,  too, 
while  acknowledging  that  it  is  an  unmitigated  despotism,  contend 
that  the  people  being  naturally  factious,  require  a  severe  ruler. 
This  argument  I  will  not  attempt  to  refute.  The  experience  of 
the  South  ximerican  Republics,  with  the  exception  of  Chili,  has 
been  most  unfortunate,  and  others  can  decide  for  themselves 
whether  the  freedom  from  absolute  anarchy  is  compensated  by  the 
rule  of  a  single  tyrant,  whose  personal  views  have  brought  about 
a  continual  state  of  war,  which  in  a  high  degree  retards  the  de- 
velopment of  the  resources  of  the  country. 

In  regard  to  the  war  with  Montevideo,  Rosas  is  doubtless  in- 
fluenced by  a  desire  for  the  advancement  of  his  own  country,  as 
well  as  by  a  desire  for  the  security  of  his  own  life  and  position, 
which  depends  upon  his  retaining  the  prestige  and  physical  power 
which  accompanies  sovereignty.    The  rival  city  of  La  Plata  is 


294 


CHILI  AND  THE  ARGENTINE  PROVINCES. 


the  natural  and  convenient  outlet  of  tlie  products  of  the  Pam- 
pas, and  its  prosperity  is  coterminous  with  the  retardation  of 
Buenos  Ayres.  A  rivalry  has  for  this  reason  always  existed  be- 
tween them.  Possession  of  that  city  would  be  less  advantageous 
to  Eosas  than  to  blockade  either  by  land  or  sea  ;  whereas  the  ex- 
istence of  war  between  the  two  republics  affords  him  a  valid 
excuse  for  keeping  on  foot  an  army  of  some  ten  thousand  men, 
available  to  support  his  authority  against  the-  attempts  of  his  nu- 
merous internal  enemies. 

Of  Rosas  I  know  nothing  personally;  but  his  acts  prove  him 
in  a  high  degree  astute  and  cunning,  while  his  obstinacy  and 
power  of  endurance  is  wonderful. 

Of  his  private  character  little  can  be  known,  owing  to  his  gen- 
eral habits  of  seclusion ;  but  it  would  appear  that  among  his  ad- 
herents, and  even  in  the  presence  of  foreigners,  he  is  familiar  and 
playful,  even  to  buffoonery,  and  delights  in  playing  ludicrous 
tricks  upon  his  guests  and  confidants.  It  is  also  equally  certain 
that  this  buffoonery,  which  appears  ill  placed  and  undignified  in  a 
person  of  his  age,  to  say  nothing  of  his  exalted  position,  fre- 
quently masks  deep-laid  and  important  designs.  In  brief,  it  is 
my  opinion  that  while  his  career  has  been  a  mixture  of  cruelty, 
outrage,  charlatanry  and  imposture,  he  is  one  of  the  most,  per- 
haps the  most  remarkable  man  of  his  age. 

In  what  I  have  written,  I  am  far  from  being  actuated  by  a 
spirit  of  pique  or  personal  hostility. 

Rosas  I  have  never  seen,  while  from  many  of  his  employees  I 
received  kindness  and  attention,  of  which  I  have  a  most  grateful 
remembrance.  Yet  this  fact  I  do  not  consider  a  reason,  why  in 
pretending  to  write  a  sketch  of  a  country,  I  should  gloss  over  or 
suppress  the  faults  of  administration  and  imposture  which  are 
presented  to  the  world,  and  are  consequently  liable  to  criticism. 

Too  much  delicacy  has  been  already  shown  by  travellers  and 
others  towards  this  Grovernment,  which  employs  numerous  and 
able  writers  in  almost  every  country  to  denounce  its  enemies  and 
laud  its  own  measures ;  and  I  believe  that  those  who  wish  correct 


BUENOS  AYRES. 


295 


information,  will  consider  that  little  forbearance  in  criticism  is 
merited  by  a  Grovernment  whose  official  acts  go  forth  with  the 
anathema, 

"  Death  to  the  savage  Unitarians  !"  * 

*  The  above  Chapter  was  written  Vvken  Rosas  was  in  the  zenith  of  his 
prosperity. 

He  has  since  fallen,  and  opinions  relative  to  his  conduct  and  administration 
may  be  fearlessly  expressed,  yet  I  feel  disinclined  to  add  to  vrhat  has  been 
already  written. 

Any  deficiency  which  may  be  felt  will  doubtless  soon  be  supplied,  as  there 
will  be  no  want  of  writers  to  assail  the  dead  Lion. 


ERRATA. 


Page  h%  line  15, for  "they"  read  ''he.'^ 
Page  47,  line  4,  for    Valdina"  read  "  Valdivia." 
Page  80,  line  27,  for  "  ereole"  read  '^creole.'^ 
Page  91,  line  24,  comma  (.)  for  colon.  (:) 
Page  102,  line  17,  for  "these"'  read  "their." 
Page  107,  line  33,  for  "  Boliva"  read  "  Bolivia." 
Page  113,  line  2,  for"Danvin"  read  "Darwin" 
Page  199,  line  25,  for  "  of,"  read  "for." 
Page  206,  line  9,  for  "joasco,"  read  "  joflsco." 
Page  222,  line  9,  for    revctkons^^  read  revenonsy 
Page  224,  line  27,  for  "  was"  read  "  were." 
Page  256j  line  25,  for    Mono"  read  "  Moro.''  ^ 


